Error 404 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Nineteen Eighty-Four

Regarded as one of the classics of dystopian fiction, George Orwell's 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' presents a world in which much of society in the vast Oceania region is governed by a totalitarian, all-seeing organisation known as the Party. Heading the Party is the mysterious Big Brother (hence the famous phrase, "Big Brother is watching you"), and the novel's protagonist, Winston Smith, attempts to rebel against Big Brother, and indeed the Party, in an effort to avenge the disappearance of his family during his childhood.

The concept of Room 101 also features in the novel, and is said to be the place where all the worst things in the world are sent. This inspired a radio series in the early 1990s on BBC Radio 5 in which celebrity guests discussed the things they disliked most about the world and had them sent to Room 101, where they would be removed from existence.

The radio series made the jump to television in 1994, hosted by Nick Hancock, who also hosted the radio version. Paul Merton took over from Hancock in 1999 until the series ended in 2007. In 2012, the show was resurrected, with a new host, Frank Skinner, and a revised format, in which three guests argued against one another in attempts to get their item/s banished to Room 101.

Answer: Potassium sorbate

Potassium hydroxide and sorbic acid can be reacted together to create potassium sorbate, a preservative used to prevent the growth of mould and other such impurities in some food and drink. Potassium sorbate is notable for its use in wine, as it restricts further fermentation of yeast after the wine has been bottled (the preservative reacts with the wine and sorbic acid is formed). Due to its relative safety, it is one of the more commonly used preservatives, and is even used in the personal care industry, particularly in hair care products like shampoo and conditioner.

Answer: 3OH!3

Sean Foreman and Nathaniel Motte make up the Colorado-based duo 3OH!3. According to them, their group's name came from the area code of their home city of Boulder. In 2007, they released their self-titled first album, but it wasn't until 2008 that they released their second album and saw a significant increase in popularity. 3OH!3 have also worked with some big names in the music world, including Katy Perry and Ke$ha.

Answer: Peugeot

From 1960 to 1975, Peugeot produced the 404, a family car which came in a variety of styles, the most common and popular being the four door saloon. It was built as a successor to the 403, which ceased production in 1966. Peugeot showed off the new 404 cabriolet model in 1961 at the Paris Motor Show, which was followed by the coupé and sedan versions.

In 1968, the 404's successor, the 504, hit the market.

Answer: Arctic Monkeys

Founded by Alex Turner, Jamie Cook, Matt Helders, and Andy Nicholson, from Sheffield, UK, the Arctic Monkeys have seen considerable success as part of what has been dubbed the "post-punk revival". Their first album, 'Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not', released in 2006, hit number 1 in the UK, Ireland, and Australia, and spawned two equally popular and successful singles, 'I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor' and 'When the Sun Goes Down'.

The song '505' brings the Arctic Monkey's second album, 'Favourite Worst Nightmares', to a close, and samples the soundtrack from the spaghetti western 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'.

Answer: Syphilis

Arsphenamine (molecular formula C12H14As2Cl2N2O2), better known as 606, was used in the treatment of trypanosomiasis, a disease spread by the tsetse fly that can cause mental deterioration and serious damage to the lymphatic system if not treated quickly, in addition to syphilis. Discovered by the Japanese bacteriologist Sahachiro Hata, 606 attacks the disease-causing spirochaetes (the bacteria which lead to syphilis) which, at the time, was a highly effective method of staving off the infection. With the advent of penicillin in later years, the use of this organoarsenic drug decreased in favour of the new antibiotic.

Al Capone famously contracted syphilis and suffered from its effects.

Answer: Boeing

Boeing's 707 flew from New York City to Paris as part of its maiden flight in 1958. American airline Pan Am was amongst the first of the companies to place orders for the 707. Production of this particular aeroplane ceased in 1979, with only a limited number of 707s remaining across the world. American actor John Travolta, who cites aviation as one of his main interests, owns a Boeing 707, which was originally used by Australian airline QANTAS.

In the early 1960s, the 707 was supplanted by the 727 in some airlines, which went out of production in 1984.

Answer: Drum machine

Though it wasn't a particularly innovative device, and the sounds created by it were second-class compared to other drum machines on the market, the Roland TR-808, released in the early 1980s, was substantially cheaper and therefore was in fairly common usage.

In later years, the TR-808 became one of the most frequently used drum machines in the music industry. It was succeeded by the TR-909 just a few years after the 808 was released, with both machines in concurrent circulation for a brief period.

Answer: California

Originally part of the 714 area, but separated to form two areas in 1992, the 909 area covers parts of the Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties in California. This area of California is located in the southeastern part of the state, approximately midway between the coast and the neighbouring state of Arizona.

Answer: 10

Binary is easily read from right to left, with each digit representing a value. As a base-two system, each of these values is a power of two. For example, the rightmost digit represents 2^0, which equals one. The next digit to the left represents 2^1, the next represents 2^2, and so on. Knowing this, you can determine the decimal representation of the number by reading the boolean values (1 = on, 0 = off) and adding them together. Thus, 1010 represents 8 + 0 + 2 + 0 = 10.