Quizzes & Puzzles 57

Some new problems with which to exercise the brain. But first a look at answers and solutions to Quizzes & Puzzles 56. New problems below the image (cartoon).

Answer to Quiz 56:1

The so-called “War of the Roses” was fought between two branches of the English royal family in the Middle Ages. What were these two branches called?

Lancaster and York, the two branches of the English royal family at the times, Plantagenet.

@Ling01 provided the right answer.

Answer to Quiz 56:2

Which winner of the Nobel prize in literature wrote the great novel “Doctor Zhivago“? The story also became a movie in 1965, with Omar Sharif, Julie Christie, and Geraldine Chaplin in leading roles.

Russian author Boris Pasternak (1890-1960). @NazifaBuri knew that.

Answer to Quiz 56:3

Alechin, Capablanca, Fischer, and Lasker – what do they have in common?

They have all been world champions in chess.

Answer to Quiz 56:4

The Channel Islands, a group of islands in the English Channel, between France and Britain, belongs to the British crown, but are they formally a part of

Great Britain?

France?

The United Kingdom?

The Archduchy of Normandy?

England?

The Channel Islands are not a part of Great Britain or the United Kingdom. They are Crown Dependencies and constitute the remains of “The Archduchy of Normandy”, which is the right answer to my question. This is difficult because the British have their own way to see their territories politically. I have tried to clear this up in The Structure of the British Isles, where I am also outlining the historical background. If you are interested in learning more about this, I suggest you read the full article.

Answer to Quiz 56:5

Which piece of classical music contains “An die Freude”? I want the name of the piece, and that of the composer (which is one of the greatest of all time)?

It is Symphony number 9 by Ludwig van Beethoven.

Answer to Quiz 56:6

If you suffer from myocarditis, which organ is affected?

The heart.

Quite many readers new this. Right answer came from @Ling01, @BlueFlipper, and @NazifaBuri.

Answer to Quiz 56:7

What is a “biwa”?

• A detail of women's clothes?

• A music instrument?

• A coin?

• A sort of knife?

It is a musical instrument. A biwa is a Japanese lute.

Above is an image by Koto Barei from around 1890. It shows a biwa.

Below, Benzaiten, playng biwa, a woodblock print by Yashima Gakutei.

Benzaiten is a Buddhist goddess based on Hindu goddess Saraswati. She is one of the "Seven Gods of Happiness" and is often depicted with a biwa, a Japanese lute. Benzaiten is the goddess of music and knowledge. Within her area falls everything that "floats". She is also associated with serpents and dragons.

In Shintoism, she has become a female kami, Ichikishima-hime-no-mikoto. There are several Shinto temples dedicated to her.

The correct answer, a biwa is “a musical instrument” was provided by @Ling01 and @NazifaBuri.

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

Quiz 57:1

The Rococo period effectively came to an end with the French revolution, but which design style was before the Rococo?

Quiz 57:2

In which card game is one player a dummy?

Quiz 57:3

Tonypandy is a town in South Wales. It has given its name to a phenomenon, especially important for historians, or anyone who tries to find the truth of past events. What does the term “tonypandy” denote?

Quiz 57:4

The winter Olympics in 1972 was held in Japan. But do you know the name of the Japanese island on which it took place?

Quiz 57:5

Anapest; what is that?

• An illness?

• A metrical foot?

• A form of nervous tissue?

• A city?

• A card game?

Quiz 57:6

In France 1793, king Louis XVI was executed. Nobody today knows whether or not it is true, but it has been told that a man splashed king Louis's blood over the excited audience, shouting "Jacques de Molay, you are avenged!" Even if this would be nothing more than a legend, there is a root of something real behind. Jacques de Molay, was a real person and there is a real event behind the idea of avenging him.

Who was he, and why would he be avenged?

Quiz 57:7

When we say that trustlessness is an important quality of a genuine cryptocurrency, what do we mean? What is ”trustlessness”?

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.

Copyright © 2022 Meleonymica/Mictorrani. All Rights Reserved

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

(All the images are in the Public Domain.)

Read also the most recent ”Suggested Reading”: Suggested Reading 33.