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Structure
Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 20 general entries.
Special Topics
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Language Use
| The time has come for a sober question on a ridiculous topic. According to Voltaire, whereas "doubt is uncomfortable" what is "ridiculous"? | A Thoroughly Ridiculous Quiz
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Certainty. It is my hope that this is the most ridiculous quiz I have yet written. After all, I've never used so many exclamation points! But to feel certain would, of course, be ridiculous.
| According to "say-it-in-english.com", English has 44 separate sounds. The number of ways we spell these 44 sounds is truly ridiculous. How many ways have we ridiculous English spellers come up with for spelling our language's 44 sounds? | A Thoroughly Ridiculous Quiz
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More than 1000. Sixteen would be reasonable, eighty-three believable, 258 a bit of a stretch, but more than 1000 ways to spell 44 sounds would be utterly ridiculous. So naturally the "Ridiculous Spelling" page for "say-it-in-english.com" points out that writers of English have thus far come up with more than 1100 ways to spell 44 sounds.
| Searching for ridiculous websites you find yourself at the "ridiculous fish" website. There the ridiculous fish is wearing a facial appliance made up of glasses, a big nose and a black mustache. Which comedian is most likely being alluded to? | A Thoroughly Ridiculous Quiz
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Groucho Marx. I am disappointed to report that "Ridiculous Fish" is a site dealing with technical aspects of computer programming. The logo makes the page worth a visit even for the non-programmer though. But keep your hopes up. Ridiculous spelling is next.
| Leaving the womblike security of my dictionary, I venture into the Bard's realm. Here we find one Don Adriano de Armado maligned as being "ridiculous and thrasonical". Armado is so accused as he labors to avoid the loss of his love in what well-known Shakespeare play? | A Thoroughly Ridiculous Quiz
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Love's Labours Lost. "Love's Labours Lost" is the Bard's most "ridiculous" play, the word occurring more often here than in any other Shakespeare play. But "thrasonical" is really the more interesting word despite its being off topic. Terrence's comedy "Eunnuchus" featured a boastful fellow named Thraso resulting in braggarts coming to called "thrasonical" (at least by Shakespeare). And then there's the whole matter of the hyphen in well-known. Does or does it not belong? By the way, did you need the hints I dropped? Now, don't be thrasonical!
| Right. This is getting a bit... ridiculous. But I just can't leave my dictionary yet. If you were one of those ancients who spoke the language from which "ridiculous" came, and you told a "ridiculum", what would you have told? | A Thoroughly Ridiculous Quiz
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A joke. I promise. For the next question, I'll leave the safety of my dictionary. It'll be scary, I know. But there's always Google. (Would you believe? "Google" is not in MSWORDS spellchecker. Don't you think that's carrying jealousy a bit too far Mr. Gates? I mean, even "Gates" is in the spellchecker. In fact, even "spellchecker" is...) Right. Where was I? Oh yes. A "ridiculum" could involve a fib or a tall tale or even a lie, but it meant "joke".
| Imagine I'm back in the culture where the word "ridiculous" originated, and someone calls me "ridiculus". If I fit that description, and you see me, what should you do? | A Thoroughly Ridiculous Quiz
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Laugh. Would you believe that the term "poke fun" came from jabbing ridiculous people with swords? Good thing. It didn't. Now, the desire to rid oneself of a ridiculous person can become intense. (But please! Keep taking this quiz anyway!). But in Latin, "ridere" means laugh.
And I would just like to mention that my English teachers would never have permitted me to begin sentences with conjunctions. But Funtrivia does. And I love doing it. I just hope the editor for this quiz isn't an older, traditional English teacher. Really. I do. My thirst for revenge faded long ago.
| Just how ridiculous am I? I'm the absurd sort of person who when doing this kind of quiz heads straight for the dictionary to find the word's origin. Based on the origin of the word "ridiculous", which historical figure might have called me "ridiculus" in his/her native tongue? | A Thoroughly Ridiculous Quiz
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Caesar. Would you have had to look up "Nefertiti" to spell it correctly? I did. Now that's ridiculous! And I'm not just referring to my challenged spelling ability. You'd think the MSWORD spellchecker would include "Nefertiti". I mean, it includes the made up word "MSWORD" but not the name of this famous Egyptian woman. Er... I didn't mean "ridiculous" a couple of sentences back. I meant "interesting". After all this is supposed to be "interesting" not "ridiculous" information.
| In 1616, a book was published wherein the initial letter of each chapter spelled out "I Franciscus Godwinus Landavensis Episcopus Hoc Conscripsit". What sovereign state's ruler was the author keen not to offend by publishing his name on the cover? | The Impossible Quiz
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England. The book was "Rerum Anglicorum Henrico VIII, Eduardo VI et Maria Regnantibus Annales", by Bishop Francis Goodwin. It was a history of Henry VIII, Edward VI and Queen Mary. Books were commonly written without ascription so as to protect authors from the light headed consequences of offending the crown or other powerful courtiers.
THE KEY: All the questions were about acrostics. The initial letter to each answer spells "Impossible" in acrostic fashion.
| In 1871, Lewis Carroll wrote a sequel to "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland". What was featured in the title of Carroll's odd sequel? | The Impossible Quiz
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Looking-Glass. Carroll wrote "Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There" which contains, in the last chapter, an acrostic of the real-life Alice's name - Alice Pleasance Liddell. "Jabberwocky" is included in the book, but not in the title. "Hunting of the Snark" is a separate work. "Phantasmagoria" is an alternate title to his work "Rhyme? And Reason?"
| Of the three British authors, Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell, one was - Best Remembered for One Novel That Excelled. What was her real surname? | The Impossible Quiz
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Bronte. "Best Remembered for One Novel That Excelled" spells out "Bronte", and describes Emily Bronte, whose sole novel "Wuthering Heights" was first published under her nom de plume "Ellis Bell". The Bronte sisters chose these names to overcome gender bias in British publishing and readership in the 19th century.
| One of the earliest known acrostics refers to followers of Jesus Christ. In Greek, the letters spell the word for fish. What is the Greek name for the letter "I"? | The Impossible Quiz
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iota. Pronounced "yota", it is derived from the Phoenician symbol "yodh". Id is Latin for the personal pronoun "I". Ichthys is the Greek word "fish" spelled by the acrostic.
| When the Dutch sweep the skating events in international competition, they stand proudly on the podium to hear "Het Wilhelmus" played - the national anthem of the Netherlands since 1586. What country is mentioned in the anthem's first verse? | The Impossible Quiz
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Spain. The song has 15 stanzas. Here is the first, translated into English: "William of Nassau, scion Of an old Germanic line, I dedicate undying Faith to this land of mine. A prince Of Orange, I am, undaunted ever free, To the king of Spain I've granted A lifelong loyalty." The song is an acrostic of William's name.
| In 1711, Joseph Addison and Richard Steele published a widely read daily in London for the purpose of raising up morality and philosophy - all with a sense of humor. What was the name of his newspaper? | The Impossible Quiz
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Spectator. In his journal, Addison objected to popular fads in poetry by opining that he didn't know "whether the inventor of the anagram or the acrostic were the greater blockhead." - "Spectator" #60
| In the Anglican Church, the final days of Advent are marked by the chanting of verses which are named for the various names of Christ. What is the name given to these verses? | The Impossible Quiz
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O Antiphons. In order, they are "O Sapientia" (Wisdom); "O Adonai"; "O Radix Jesse" (Root of Jesse); "O Clavis David" (Key of David); "O Oriens" (Sunrise); "O Rex Gentium" (King of the nations); and "O Emmanuel". Acrostically spelling the letters in reverse produces "Ero Cras", Latin for "Tomorrow, I will come" - which summarizes the Advent message.
| Which author composed verse about "Annabelle Lee", but evidently reserved his true feelings for: "Elizabeth it is in vain you say, 'Love not' - thou sayest it in so sweet a way: In vain those words from thee or L.E.L. Zantippe's talents had enforced so well: Ah! if that language from thy heart arise, Breath it less gently forth - and veil thine eyes. Endymion, recollect, when Luna tried To cure his love - was cured of all beside - His follie - pride - and passion - for he died."? | The Impossible Quiz
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Poe. Edgar Allan Poe wrote this poem for his cousin Elizabeth Rebecca Herring. The first letter of each line spells out her name. All the other incorrect poets are referenced in the poem, which was never published.
| Not all scholars of poetry appreciate acrostics. Samuel Butler wrote the following: "He uses [acrostics] to lay the outsides of his verses even, like a bricklayer, by a line of rhyme and acrostic, and fill the ____ with rubbish." What word best fits both the quote and the key to the quiz? | The Impossible Quiz
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middle. Samuel Butler wrote his disdain of this literary convention in "Character of a Small Poet". Butler was best known for the poem "Hudibras", which, like most Restoration works, was critical of the Puritans and won him a pension from Charles II.
| The "Ashrei" is the recitation from Hebrew literature (Psalm 145) which occurs three times each day in Hebrew worship. What is the first assertion of the "Ashrei"? | The Impossible Quiz
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I will extol. Most psalms change voice often. Some verses directly address God, while some speak about God. Psalm 145 begins with no less than six "I" statements in the first third of the psalm - with none to follow in the final 15 verses. The first letter of every verse of Psalm 145 starts with a consecutive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
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