Quizzes & Puzzles 59

Some new problems with which to exercise the brain. But first a look at answers and solutions to Quizzes & Puzzles 58. New problems below the image (cartoon).

Answer to Quiz 58:1

One of the greatest novels in literature is ”War and Peace”. But which war does the title refer to?

French Emperor Napoleon's war with Russia.

Answer to Quiz 58:2

A long-haired Siamese cat is normally called something else than ”Siamese”. It has got its name from an island. What island?

The island is Bali. Long-haired siamese cats are called Balinese.

Answer to Quiz 58:3

If you suffer from Strabismus, what's wrong with you then?

Strabismus is when our eyes are not focused in the same direction; you either turn them inwards or outwards.

@Duvinca knew half the answer.

Answer to Quiz 58:4

This is a snake eating is own tail. An old symbol.

What is it called?

The snake is called Ouroboros,which @Sylv_Sylv correctly answered.

In ”From the Sacred Cobras of Egypt to Quezalcoatl: Serpents & Snakes in Mythology”, I wrote:

“Ouroboros is a serpent eating its own tail, often formed as a circle. It has been used as a symbol of slightly varied meaning in different cultures, religions, schools of thought, and ages. As so many things, it began in Old Egypt and the oldest found pictorial occurrence of this symbol is from the tomb of Tutankhamon and a funerary text called the Enigmatic Book of the Netherworld. An illustration there shows two serpents with their tails in their mouth - they symbolise Mehen, a deity who coils around Ra during the night.

Further:

In the even older Coffin Text 1130, the god Ra says: "Hail in peace! I repeat to you the good deeds which my own heart did for me from within the serpent-coil, in order to silence strife."

Later, Roman writer Servius [4th century AD] claimed that the Egyptian symbol represented the cyclic year, although before him, Plato [about 424-348 BC] described it as the first living being in the universe, a primordial being.

But it doesn't end there:

The symbol lived on through Gnosticism, as the soul of the world, and in Alchemy. Carl Gustav Jung wrote:

"The alchemists, who in their own way knew more about the nature of the individuation process than we moderns do, expressed this paradox through the symbol of the Ouroboros, the snake that eats its own tail. The Ouroboros has been said to have a meaning of infinity or wholeness. In the age-old image of the Ouroboros lies the thought of devouring oneself and turning oneself into a circulatory process, for it was clear to the more astute alchemists that the prima materia of the art was man himself. The Ouroboros is a dramatic symbol for the integration and assimilation of the opposite, i.e. of the shadow. This 'feed-back' process is at the same time a symbol of immortality, since it is said of the Ouroboros that he slays himself and brings himself to life, fertilizes himself and gives birth to himself. He symbolizes the One, who proceeds from the clash of opposites, and he therefore constitutes the secret of the prima materia which […] unquestionably stems from man's unconscious."

Ouroboros also turns up in other old cultures:

A serpent biting its own tail occurs in Indian and Persian traditions as well. As for India, compare the quote from the Yoga Kundalini Upanishad above, where the snake is described as holding its tail in its own mouth.

From old Persia, one can find an Ouroboros-like symbol in Mithraism, a religion, which during late Antiquity was commonly practised in the Roman Empire as Mithraic Mysteries, a distinctly Roman version of Mithra worship.”

Answer to Quiz 58:5

”Magic Mirror on the Wall

Who is the Fairest one of all?”

From which folktale are these words known?

From Snow White. @dauntless_marquess , @Duvinca and @Sylv_Sylv knew that.

Answer to Quiz 58:6

The governor of Athlone for James II, Richard Grace, was offered to join William of Orange. James' cause was lost, but Grace refused to betray him. On a playing card he wrote his reply:

"Tell your master I despise his offer, and that honour and conscience are dearer to a gentleman, than all the wealth and titles a prince can bestow."

The playing card he wrote on has become a symbol of loyalty. But which playing card was that?

The so-called Grace's card is six of hearts.

Answer to Quiz 58:7

Who said this?

“I once cried because I had no shoes to play football, but one day, I met a man who had no feet.”

The speaker here is one of the best football players of all time, and after ending his career as a player, he has been a spectacularly successful coach.

The answer is Zinedine Zidane.

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

Quiz 59:1

How many faces has a tetrahedron?

Quiz 59:2

What is the difference between British English and American English citation marks, and how to put them in a sentence?

Quiz 59:3

Painter Vincent Van Gogh had mental problems. One of his most famous actions was that he cut off a part of his body. Which part?

Quiz 59:4

Who wrote the influential and controversial novel “Atlas Shrugged”?

Quiz 59:5

Which are the four grand slam tournaments in tennis?

Quiz 59:6

A very expensive spice is sometimes replaced with ground (and much cheaper) tonka beans - which are sold as the genuine thing. What spice is the genuine thing? It's the second most expensive spice, surpassed in price only by saffron.

Quiz 59:7

Which famous Spanish author did take part in the Battle of Lepanto, and for which classical novel is he best known?

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.)

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