The Wonderful Wizard of 'Zo' Trivia Quiz

Answer: Zorro

Zorro is actually a South American fox related more closely to a dog than a true fox. Sometimes the Zorro is called a "false fox". The genus name is Pseudalopex griseus and one of the more common types is the Argentine Grey Fox.

Zorro the sword wizard is based upon the character created by Johnston McCulley in 1919. The secret identity of the masked swordsman is Don Diego de la Vega and is a cool super-hero with a black mask and a cape. Hmm... sounds a little like a Spanish Colonial Batman.

Answer: Zodiac

The Zodiac uses the ecliptic as the origin point for latitude and the sun's position (vernal equinox) as the origin point for longitude. The coordinate system is broken up into twelve 30-degree segments that all align with a zodiac sign and a constellation. One easy mnemonic device to remember the constellations is "All the Great Constellations Live Very Long Since Stars Can't Alter Physics" {Aries-Taurus-Gemini-Cancer-Leo-Virgo-Libra-Scorpio-Sagittarius-Capricorn-Aquarius-Pisces}.

The great wizard Harry Potter was born on July 31st, which interestingly enough is also the birthday of author J.K. Rowling. Both wizard and author have the zodiac sign Leo and exhibit many Leo qualities such as leadership, focused ambition, generosity, positive disposition, and great resiliency.

Answer: Zoom

The word "zoom" arrived in the late 19th century and was used to indicate something that moved very quickly or something that moved with a low humming noise. Nowadays it is also used to refer to increasing the size of something by drawing an image closer.

Zoom is a fictional comic book super-villain from the DC universe. His real name alias is Hunter Zoloman and is the arch-nemesis of The Flash. Zoom's super-powers are of course his magical speed and ability to distort time. In a 2011 IGN List of the Top 100 Comic Book Villains of all-time, Zoom earned the #37 spot.

Answer: Alonzo Mourning

Held in conjunction with the NBA All-Star Weekend festivities in February of 2011, Alonzo Mourning and Magic Johnson hosted a pool tournament at the JW Marriott in downtown Los Angeles. The celebrity-studded affair raised thousands for the Alonzo Mourning Charities and the Magic Johnson Foundation.

Alonzo Harding Mourning Jr. "ZO" played in the NBA for 15 seasons and was a 7-Time All-Star. He also won 2-Defensive Player of the Year Awards (1999 and 2000)and an NBA title in 2006 with the Miami Heat. A courageous athlete, ZO returned from a Kidney transplant to help the Miami Heat win the World Championship. On March 30, 2009, Mounring was honored as the first Miami player to have his shirt retired. Now for the "Wizard" connection....In 2005, Zo's Miami Heat played the Washington Wizards in the second round of the NBA playoffs. In the 3rd game of the series, Mourning would have 13 rebounds to lead a series white-wash against the Wizards. Although the Heat would lose narrowly to Detroit in the next round, they would come back to win the NBA title in 2006.

Answer: Bozo

Bozo the Clown became a household name when the character first hit the television screen in 1949. The character was created by author-musician Alan Livingston. In 1946, he produced a story-telling record and a colorful read-along book titled "Bozo at the Circus". Bozo became a franchise character with over 200 actors playing the role through a thirty year period. Bozo would sing, dance, tell stories, and sometimes even perform magic tricks for the children audiences.

Answer: Gonzo

Gonzo emerged as one of the most beloved of all of Jim Henson's "Muppet" characters. He first appeared in the 1970 Christmas Special, "The Great Santa Claus Switch". In the show he is referred to as an "alien" or as a "whatever" because no one is exactly sure what he is.

In the 1999 film, "Muppets from Space", we learn that he is an alien from a distant planet. Over the years, some of his best magic tricks have involved trying to hypnotize chickens and death-defying stunts involving catapults.

Answer: Zoroastrianism

Zoroastrianism was founded sometime between 1700 BC and 500 BC in the region around Ancient Iran. The founding prophet was Zarathustra, also known as Zoroaster. Zoroastrianism is essentially a monotheistic religion centered around the one Creator, "Ahura Mazda." Good and evil play particular roles with evil (druj) trying to destroy Mazda, and good attempting to sustain it.

The word Magi is derived from the Latin Magus and the Greek word Magos. The terms magi, magus, and magician are found in the English language. Magi is a term used since the 4th Century BC to characterize a follower of the Zoroastrianist religion. Hellenistic culture saw followers of Zoroaster as practitioners of magic, alchemy, fortune-telling, and star-gazing. The Greeks perceived Zoroaster as the founder of the Magi and an inventor of magic.

Answer: Zorba

Zorba the English Mastiff was over 340 pounds and measured over 8 feet long from nose to tail. He stood an incredible 37 inches at the shoulder and lived to be 11 years old.

In J.K. Rowling's wizard books she calls Fang a boarhound. In the movie, Fang is played by a Neapolitan Mastiff (a breed that incidentally was used for boar hunting). In the first three movies the part of Fang is actually played by four separate dogs: Bully, Bella, Hugo, and Vito. Another Mastiff, Uno is also used in the shooting of the movie. None of the dogs was even close to the size of Zorba.

Answer: Zoolander

"Zoolander" was released in September of 2001 and was directed, starred, and produced by Ben Stiller. The all-star cast included David Duchovny, Will Ferrell, Owen Wilson, Milla Jovovich, Christine Taylor, Justin Theroux, Patton Oswalt, and Paris Hilton.

Now you might be wondering what the wizard connection is? Well this is a stretch, but Claudia Schiffer also makes a cameo appearance in "Zoolander". Those who follow Hollywood will recall Claudia Schiffer dated the great magician David Copperfield for five years between 1994 and 1999. During that time she appeared in many of his stage shows where she was levitated, guillotined, and sawn in half.

Answer: Zod

General Zod appears as a fictional character in both the comic books and the "Superman" movies. His powers include super-human strength, speed, endurance, exceptional intellect, and super hearing. He also possesses x-ray vision, heat vision, freezing breath, advanced healing skills, and the ability to fly. Only real weakness is his arrogance that ultimately leads to his underestimating the strength and ability of his opponents.