Common Bond for a Good Sport Trivia Quiz

Answer: Magellanic Clouds

There are two Magellanic Clouds, a Large and a Small, both visible with the naked eye in the global South. Sailors were the first to name them after Magellan. They're close to the Southern Crux in the sky but are actually bad for navigation - as you can see in the photo, they appear diffuse and, well, cloud-like.

"Only" about 20,000 light years away, they belong to the Local Group (the Milky Way, Andromeda, and its intergalactic neighbors). They have a kind of elongated spiral shape, aptly called "Magellanic spirals," which may be the result of our galaxy's gravity pulling on its stars, the same way the moon's gravity raises our tides.

Answer: Batman Returns

"Batman Returns" was a return for both Michael Keaton's Caped Crusader and for Tim Burton as director. Joining the rogue's gallery this time are Michelle Pfeiffer as Selina Kyle, Danny DeVito as Oswald Cobblepot, and Christopher Walken as businessman Max Shreck (named for the actor that played Nosferatu, the movie pictured).

"Edward Scissorhands" and "The Nightmare Before Christmas" both feature Christmas too, though they're equally fitting to watch on Halloween.

Answer: Macaroni

"Macaroni" referred to a style of foppery popular among young men involving high wigs, exaggerated colors, and androgynous clothing. The style was popular among young people, many of whom vacationed in Italy and returned raving about a new dish called pasta. This "Macaroni Club" drew the mockery of Horace Walpole, James Boswell, and Oliver Goldsmith. Unlike the conscientious subversion of later dandyism, macaroni dress was rejected more than it was reclaimed.

If you've ever wondered why Yankee Doodle Dandy called his feather macaroni, this is the reason. The implication is that a Yankee (i.e., American) dandy wouldn't know enough to know that one feather does not a macaroni make.

Answer: "Surf's Up" by The Beach Boys

"Surf's Up" is one of several Beach Boys releases that came out of the lengthy "Smile" sessions recorded between 1965 and 1971. "Smile" was a promised magnum opus that, due to Brian Wilson's deteriorating mental health, never quite saw fruition. Although the title evokes such giddy LPs as "Surfin' Safari" and "Surfin' U.S.A," it's actually full of melancholic and muted numbers like "'Til I Die" and the title track.

The sculpture is called "The End of the Trail" by James Earl Fraser, depicting an exhausted American Indian warrior. The actual cover is even drearier - the figure is cast in shadow and surrounded by a cloudy sky.

Answer: The Emperor

In Tarot, the Emperor is associated with order, power, and diligence. If upside-down, the Emperor's shadow side represents tyranny and oppression. As in this depiction, the Emperor is often shown with an orb and a scepter, which may be tipped with an ankh. The Emperor is balanced by the third Arcana, the Empress, which embodies femininity and sensuality (or insecurity and disorder).

The Emperor (real name Sheev Palpatine) appears in some form in all three of the numbered "Star Wars" movie trilogies. In brief, he goes from a mere member of the Imperial Senate in "Episode I" through "III"; oversees the building of the Death Star and the recuperation of Darth Vader; puppets the latter in "Episode IV" through "VI"; and sometime prior to "Episode IX," clones himself, presumably to appear in even more sequels.

Answer: Galapagos Islands

The only lizards that spend their time in the ocean are marine iguanas, who live throughout the Galapagos Islands. Green iguanas are typically longer but marine iguanas have stockier bodies, and their tails have evolved into thick, flat rudders to propel them out to sea. Oddly, while all marine iguanas are good swimmers, youngsters, females, and smaller males prefer to sup on what algae is available from the surface at low tide.

The amazing photos of iguanas swimming in open water all depict the males of the species.

Answer: Wallace and Gromit

Lewis Newplast is a plasticine clay (similar to the one pictured) favored by Aardman Animations, the British studio responsible for "Wallace and Gromit," "Shaun the Sheep," and "Chicken Run." Like Aardman, Newplast is quintessentially British: the producer, Newclay Products, closed in 2023, leaving no other supplier.

The nation panicked; Aardman's "hour of knead" was reported in the Telegraph. Luckily, by November 2023, the studio announced that a replacement had been found.

Answer: Tuxedo

A cummerbund is a pleated piece of fabric worn in black tie getups as an alternative to a waistcoat. Like epaulettes and berets, cummerbunds were first worn by military officers, emulating the waist-wrappings worn by men in the Mughal Empire. These sashes may have come in a variety of colors and were worn to signify status.

These days, a cummerbund should be worn with a tuxedo or a dinner jacket in black tie. The more formal white tie dress code requires a white waistcoat, and if you try to wear a cummerbund with a polo and khakis, prepare to look very silly indeed.

Answer: Linux

Linux has long been a favorite of techy types, but much of its use comes from places you'd overlook. Though less than 5% of personal computers run on a Linux distribution, it's estimated that around half of all websites run on some form of Linux. Many simplified devices run on Linux: Google Chromebooks, car multimedia systems, smart TVs, and Valve's Steam Deck gaming system. Because it's so customizable, it's hard to show you what a "standard" Linux setup looks like! Linux is named for its programmer, Linus Torvalds.

Java is a programming language, Adobe Flash is a defunct platform for animations and browser games, and Mosaic is a defunct web browser.

Answer: Penguins

Penguins don't necessarily need cold air, but they need cold water, such as that found in the Humboldt current that runs along South America. Apparently, this also makes them suited to the three rivers of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where their ice expertise makes them good with a hockey stick.

(Q1) - MAGELLANIC penguins, are named for the Strait of Magellan, and you can take a trip to see their nesting sites as far north as Santiago, Chile. They're the longest-lived penguins, with the oldest reaching 40 in captivity.

(Q2) - In "BATMAN RETURNS," Oswald Cobblepot becomes The Penguin, a sewer-dwelling villain with a mob of avian friends. The movie used real penguins, wearing little plastic helmets plastic rocket-packs and "taking over" Gotham.

(Q3) - MACARONI penguins live in oceans surrounding Antarctica. Their name does originate from macaroni fashion: their outrageous yellow crest resembled macaronis' high wigs (not, as I once thought, the color of mac and cheese).

(Q4) - "SURF'S UP" was a 2007 animated movie about a surfboarding penguin from "Shiverpool." The 2010s produced a string of marketable penguin properties: they were breakout characters in the "Madagascar" movies, there were two "Happy Feet" movies, and there was Disney's documentary, "March of the Penguins."

(Q5) - EMPEROR penguins are the largest living penguins, edging out the slightly smaller king penguin. Emperor penguins weigh between 50 and 100 pounds (22 to 45 kg). The smallest penguin, the little blue penguin of Australia, is less than a foot tall and weighs 3 pounds!

(Q6) - GALAPAGOS penguins, along with tortoises and marine iguanas, are one of the natural ambassadors for that extraordinary place. They're the only wild penguins to live north of the equator, living near where the Humboldt terminates.

(Q7) Of the several penguins that feature in Aardman Animations, the most notorious is Feathers McGraw, jewel thief and archenemy of WALLACE AND GROMIT. He appeared in "The Wrong Trousers" and "Vengeance Most Fowl." A master of disguise, he uses a rubber glove to conceal himself as a chicken; no shame if this shocking twist threw you off the scent of this bond.

(Q8) A penguin's black-on-white coloration is said to resemble a TUXEDO (little blue penguins excepted, of course).

(Q9) The mascot for LINUX is Tux the penguin, chosen by Linus Torvalds himself. Apparently, Torvalds was bitten by a "ferocious" little blue penguin when visiting a Canberra zoo and was "infected" with a disease that made him "stay awake at nights [...] feeling great love towards them."

Pittsburgh loves its penguins, too. Not only have the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League won several championships, you can meet a penguin while you're in town at the National Aviary.