Quizzes & Puzzles 27

Some new problems with which to exercise the brain. But first a look at answers and solutions to Quizzes & Puzzles 26. New problems below the image (cartoon).

Answer to Quiz 26:1

In the answer 25:1, in the question about diaeresis, I mentioned the term diphthong, which denotes two written vowels representing only one sound. I gave the example “Paul”. But what is it called if you write three vowels and they represent just one vowel sound? As in French “eau” (water).

It's called a “triphthong”. This is quite logical, since “di-” means two, and “tri-” means three.

Answer to Quiz 26:2

Baron, Duke, Earl, Marquess, Viscount – five British noble titles in alphabetical order. Can you order them after rank, from highest to lowest?

The highest in rank is a Duke, followed by a Marquess, Earl, Viscount, and finally a Baron. These are the five ranks of British peerage.

Via French duc, duke stems from Latin “dux”, literally meaning leader. In the Roman empire, dux referred to certain military leaders.

Marquess comes from old French marchis (ruler of a border area), modern French marquis. But ultimately this is also derived from Roman times.

Earl is the British equivalent to count. But, although count is of French and ultimately Roman origin, earl is derived from an old Norse word for chieftain, jarl. However, in Norse history, a jarl had higher rank, more comparable to a duke.

Viscount means vice count.

A baron is the lowest noble of the peerage, although there are other nobles beneath the peerage (baronets and knights). It also came to England via France. It normally denoted a warrior with a fief.

Noble titles are a huge subject, which would include a lot of history. This is just some brief comments. Also note that what's stated here refers to the British titles.

Answer to Quiz 26:3

“We seek him here, we seek him there,

Those Frenchies seek him everywhere.

Is he in heaven? - Is he in hell?

That damned elusive -------”

From which well-known novel is this taken?

Who wrote it?

Which is the missing word, and who is the sought person? Here I want not only his "nickname", but also his full name, including his title.

The complete verse looks like this:

We seek him here, we seek him there,

Those Frenchies seek him everywhere.

Is he in heaven? - Is he in hell?

That damned elusive pimpernel.

It is taken from "The Scarlet Pimpernel", which was written by Baroness Emmuska Orczy (1865–1947), a British author of Hungarian origin.

The Scarlet Pimpernel is the alias of a British so-called fop - Sir Percy Blakeney, Baronet - who saves French aristocrats from the guillotine during the French revolution. In due course it became a whole series of novels about Sir Percy and his companions.

This story has been made to film more than once. One classic is the one from 1934 with Leslie Howard and Merle Oberon:

However, the best movie version is probably that from 1982, with Anthony Andrews and Jane Seymour:

Answer to Quiz 26:4

What animal, a land-living mammal, is said always to remember everything?

Is there any reason to believe that there is any truth behind this saying? If so, why?

The animal that always remember is the elephant. @Danika provided this answer and supported it with some scientific facts. I would like to add that the elephant has the largest brain of all land-living mammals, a well-developed brain at that.

Answer to Quiz 26:5

Speaking of memory, which herbal spice is often said to strengthen memory?

Well, while @Sydney2 suggested cinnamon, gingko biloba, and turmeric, and these might very well be good for the memory - the spice most often claimed to strengthen memory is rosemary.

Answer to Quiz 26:6

Assume that you are at sea, seeing a vessel and its lights at a distance. You see a green light to the left and a red to the right; is the vessel moving away from you, or is it approaching you?

Since a vessel has green light on its right side, and red on its left – green to the left and red to the right imply that it is approaching you, coming towards you.

@Aimure correctly answered this.

And now some new exercises for brain & memory...

Quiz 27:1

There is an old riddle: “Which weighs more, one kilogram lead or one kilogram feathers?” The answer, of course, is that, although feathers are light and lead is very heavy, they weigh the same, namely one kilogram.

But how is it with this: Which weighs more, one cubic meter gold or one cubic meter lead?

Quiz 27:2

Which versatile, Florentine 16th century artist is best known as a goldsmith and for his autobiography, which, still today, is an interesting and entertaining read?

Quiz 27:3

Which empire came to its absolute end in 1453, when the Turks took Constantinople?

Quiz 27:4

All of you know that there is a country named Great Britain. But why is it great, where is (or was) the small Britain?

Quiz 27:5

“Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band” was a very famous album in its time. It still is, since it heralded many news to the pop/rock music. But who was the artist?

Quiz 27:6

In Norse mythology, there is a world tree, Yggdrasil; what sort of tree (what species) is it?

You'll find answers and solutions in the next “Quizzes & Puzzles”.

Quizzes & Puzzles has its own label in my Index, where all issues of the series can be found.

In my INDEX, you can find all my writings on Read.Cash, sorted by topic.

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(Cartoon by Christian Dorn/Pixabay, CC0/Public Domain.)