Dressed to the Nines Trivia Quiz

Answer:

In keeping with my "9/99/999/9999" theme, this quiz has 2 times 9 correct answers mixed in with 9 incorrect choices. If you chose all of the 18 correct answers, you are probably sitting on Cloud 9!

Nine of the choices were connected with "9":

"IX" is the Roman numeral for "9", showing one (the letter "I") less than ten (the letter "X").

The next "9" answer is "3 squared", equivalent to multiplying "3x3", which means three threes (3+3+3), for a total of nine.

"9" is the proverbial number of "cat's lives" there are, speaking of feline resiliency and adaptability.

Another "9" is found in Greek mythology with the nine "Muses" - inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. Incidentally, "Nine Muses" is also the name of a K-Pop group.

It was the The Clovers who first sang "Love Potion No. 9" in 1959, which was more successfully covered by The Searchers in 1964.

In Rugby, the number "9" position is called the "scrum-half" or halfback - the link between forwards and backs who feeds the ball from the scrum.

"September" is the clue to our next "9" - even though the 'sept' means 7, it is our ninth calendar month.

Another "9" answer is "Sudoku", which is a game comprised of a 9x9 grid where each row and column are comprised of the numbers one through nine.

"Ted Williams" wore the number "9" for his entire career with the Boston Red Sox (1939-1960), who retired his number in 1984.

Four of the choices were connected with "99":

First, "Wayne Gretzky" - one of the greatest hockey players ever - wore jersey number "99", and his number was the first to be retired for every NHL team (not just the ones he played for).

Next was "Nena's Balloons", referring to the German pop musician who released her song "99 Luftballons" in 1983, with an English version in 1984, "99 Red Balloons".

Another "99" choice was "Jay-Z's Problems", which points to his 2003 song "99 Problems".

The last "99" is the atomic number for Einsteinium, a synthetic chemical element discovered in 1952 with the explosion of the first hydrogen bomb.

Another four of the answers had to do with "999":

"999" in Roman numerals is "CMXCIX", showing 100 less than 1000 ("CM"), 10 less than 100 ("XC"), and one less than nine ("IX").

The second "999" choice was the simple multiplication of 27x37, which equals 999.

"Galaxy Express 999" is a Japanese Manga series that began in 1977 and expanded to television and film Anime.

The final "999" is reflected in the telephone dialing code for emergency services in the UK.

And there was one, sole representative of "9999":

"9999" is the telephone dialing code for emergency services in Oman.

The other nine incorrect choices were:

- 6 Degrees of Separation
- 7 Deadly Sins
- 8 Planets in the Solar System
- "21 Questions" by 50 Cent
- 66 - Mario Lemieux's jersey number
- Agent 86 is Maxwell Smart from the show "Get Smart" - he only *worked* with Agent 99
- 89 is equal to Roman numeral LXXXIX
- 1001 Arabian Nights
- 1089 - the answer to 33x33