@Mictorrani 3 November 2022

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).* https://read.cash/@Mictorrani/quizzes-puzzles-56-ff5a9aee 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. https://read.cash/@Ling01 **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. https://read.cash/@NazifaBuri 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.* https://read.cash/@Mictorrani/the-structure-of-the-british-isles-2547a55a 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. https://read.cash/@Ling01 https://read.cash/@BlueFlipper https://read.cash/@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. https://read.cash/@Ling01 https://read.cash/@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. https://read.cash/@Mictorrani/index-over-my-articles-at-read-cash-5f7c1e34#quizzes-amp-puzzles **In my** **INDEX****, you can find all my writings on Read.Cash, sorted by topic.** https://read.cash/@Mictorrani/index-over-my-articles-at-read-cash-5f7c1e34 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. https://read.cash/@Mictorrani/suggested-reading-33-9f549050