Fingers and Thumbs Trivia Quiz

Answer: Harvard

Benazir Bhutto was born in Karachi in June 1953, the first child of barrister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and his wife Nusrat. When she was born, her unusually pink complexion led to her father bestowing on her the nickname "Pinky", by which she was known by her parents throughout their lifetimes.

When she was five, her father became a minister in Pakistan's government; he was a progressive in terms of his views of the education of women, and encouraged his daughter in her education, which led to her attendance at the Convent of Jesus and Mary, a private boarding school in Murree. Having had strings pulled by her influential father, at the age of sixteen she left Pakistan to enrol as an undergraduate at Harvard University.

Bhutto was an undergraduate at Harvard between 1969 and 1973, where she majored in Comparative Government. Initially struggling to adjust to life in the United States, she eventually became the social secretary of her dormitory, and a campus tour guide as a member of the Crimson Key Society. However, even during this period, her childhood nickname stuck, and she was universally known as "Pinky", with the Master of her dormitory even stating that he hadn't known her given name was Benazir until her Commencement Day in 1973.

Following her graduation from Harvard, at which she gained a BA in Comparative Government, she relocated to the UK to study for a second degree, this time in Politics, Philosophy and Economics, before subsequently undertaking a postgraduate degree in International Law and Diplomacy, before returning to Pakistan in 1977.

Answer: Das Rheingold

"Der Ring des Nibelungen" ("The Ring of the Nibelung"), generally referred to simply as "The Ring", is a set of four epic operas in German composed by Richard Wagner. The full work is timed to take approximately 15 hours in total, and is designed to be played over the course of four nights. The composer wrote both the music and the libretto for the four parts over the course of 26 years, beginning in 1848, when he began sketching ideas for an epic telling of the story of various Germanic myths, which included starting the libretto of a work that was initially known as "Siegfried's Tod" ("Siegfried's Death").

By 1852, he had settled on the concept of an epic cycle of four operas, of which "Siegfried's Tod" would be the finale; the others were planned as "Das Rhiengold", "Die Walkure" and "Der Junge Siegfried". Completing the text of all four parts by December 1852, in November 1853 Wagner set to work on the music, initially beginning with the first of the cycle, "Das Rheingold".

"Das Rheingold" is seen as the "preliminary evening" of the cycle, and is intended to provide much of the background to the events that move the plot of the three succeeding works forward. Wagner primarily used two main sources for the plot of "Das Rheingold", the "Poetic Edda" and the "prose Edda", a pair of works from 12th and 13th century Iceland that detail the adventures of various Norse gods.

"Das Rheingold" was primarily complete as a piece of work by the end of May 1854, after which Wagner moved to the remainder of the cycle. Although portions of "Das Rheingold" were first played publicly in 1862, the full production did not have its premiere until September 1869, when King Ludwig II of Bavaria, Wagner's principal sponsor, insisted that the work be staged, against the composer's wishes. A second "premiere" took place following the completion of the entire cycle, as part of the first Bayreuth Festival, in August 1876.

Answer: Kansas

Lebanon is a settlement in Smith County in Kansas that was originally founded in 1876. Named for the town of Lebanon, Kentucky, the settlement in Kansas was recorded as having a population of 178 in 2020. In a 1918 survey, the geographic centre of the Lower 48 states was determined to be at a point around 2.6 miles (4.2km) to the north-west of Lebanon, and approximately 12 miles (19km) south of the border between Kansas and Nebraska. The point is in a small park accessible off US Route 281.

Although the point near Lebanon is the centre of the Lower 48, since the 1959 additions of Alaska and Hawaii into the Union, the geographic centre of the United States in its entirety is located 550 miles to the north-west, at a point around 20 miles (32km) north of the town of Belle Fourche, South Dakota, and 12 miles east of the common border between South Dakota, Montana and Wyoming.

Answer: Hadley-Apennine

Index is one of a set of four linked craters in the Hadley-Apennine region of the Moon. Hadley-Apennine was named as the landing site of Apollo 15 in July 1971, with the mission being the first extended duration flight, which involved a stay of three days on the lunar surface, as well as the use of the Lunar Rover.

However, although there was an intention to land the Lunar Module within a short distance of the perimeter of Index, the spot that Falcon actually landed at was instead around 1km to the north-west, closer to the crater named as Last. Although Index was used as a visual marker during the landing phase of Apollo 15, once on the surface the two astronauts, Dave Scott and Jim Irwin, did not end up visiting the crater.

During the build-up to the flight, when the flight path intended for Falcon to use during its descent was being worked out, the line of four craters that included Index were planned to be named as "Matthew", "Mark", "Luke" and "John". However, owing to a lawsuit against NASA brought by Madalyn Murray O'Hair following the reading from the Book of Genesis during the flight of Apollo 8 in 1968, the name of the fourth crater was changed to Index, to indicate the planned landing spot. While the other names remained simply colloquial, Index was officially adopted as the name of the crater by the International Astronomical Union in 1973.

Answer: Finn MacCool

Fionn mac Cumhaill (anglicised as Finn MacCool), is a hero and legendary figure in Irish, Scottish and Manx folklore. The leader of the 'Fianna' group of warriors, he is also regarded as a seer and poet. According to the legend, which was recounted in "The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn", Fionn mac Cumhaill was the son of Cumhall, leader of the Fianna, and Muirne Muincháem. Born after the death of Cumhall, Muirne's son was originally named as Deimne, a name meaning "certainty". However, upon his hair turning prematurely white, he was instead given the name Fionn, meaning "light-hued". Following his birth, the boy had to be separated from his mother as he and his brother were hunted by enemies of their father. During boyhood, Fionn learned to hunt, and became a keen practitioner.

It was while hunting as a boy that Fionn, then still known by his birth name of Deimne, acquired what became known as the "thumb of knowledge". The poet Finnegas, who was tutoring Deimne, had been attempting for seven years to catch a particular salmon living in Fec's Pool, as it was prophesied that, upon eating the salmon, "nothing would remain unknown to him". Finnegas eventually caught the salmon, and gave it to Deimne to cook. While cooking, the boy burnt his thumb and, instinctively, put it into his mouth, imbuing him with the salmon's knowledge and wisdom. When Finnegas saw this, he gave the entire salmon to Deimne to eat, and rechristened him with the name Fionn. After this, whenever Fionn recited the "teinm láida", one of the incantations used to gain knowledge, with his thumb in his mouth, he would gain the knowledge he sought.

Answer: PT Barnum

Charles Stratton was born in January 1838 in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Although he was an average sized newborn, weighing more than 9 pounds at birth, and grew normally for the first few months of his life, reaching a length of 25 inches by the age of six months, following this his growth suddenly stopped. Although his body was completely in proportion, and functioned normally, he grew only one inch between the ages of six months and five years, ultimately reaching an adult height of 2ft 11in. The cause of Stratton's condition was never definitively confirmed, owing to the fact that medical techniques and technology of the time were not sophisticated enough to make an accurate determination. It is believed that the cause of Stratton's height is pituitary dwarfism, a condition defined by a lack of growth hormone.

Stratton was discovered by PT Barnum at the age of four - Barnum recruited the boy, teaching him to sing and dance, perform impressions and mime. Performing in Barnum's show as General Tom Thumb, Stratton initially toured the United States, becoming a huge success. This led to his travelling as part of Barnum's show for a three-year tour of Europe, where he performed for Queen Victoria and met the Prince of Wales, and drew large crowds. During this period, he also began to appear in full-length melodramas that highlighted his increasing skill as a performer, as opposed to just an exhibition attraction. Never hampered by his height, Stratton ultimately became a wealthy and influential man, even going so far as to help Barnum out of financial difficulty. When he died unexpectedly of a stroke in 1883, more than 20,000 people attended his funeral, with Barnum paying for a life sized statue of Stratton to be made as his gravestone.

Answer: Paul VI

The Index Librorum Prohibitorum (Index of Forbidden Books) was a list of books initially created by the Sacred Congregation of the Index, a dicastery of the Roman Curia, that were deemed contrary to morality - this meant that Catholics were forbidden to print or read them, and Catholic states were permitted to pass laws banning them. The texts on the list were both religious and secular, and were graded according to the degree that they were heretical at the time. The first such list was published in the Netherlands in 1529, with the first Roman list eventually coming out in 1559 under Pope Paul IV, which banned works belonging to 550 authors.

The Index was continued for four centuries, with the 20th and last edition published in 1948. This contained a total of 4000 titles that were censored for various reasons, including heresy, moral deficiency and sexual explicitness. However, in December 1965, Pope Paul VI issued the motu proprio Integrae servandae, part of his widespread reorganisation of the Roman Curia, which reorganised the Holy Office into the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The Index was not listed as part of its functions, with it later confirmed that, while it would remain in existence and be used as part of the church's moral force, it would no longer have the force of canon law within the church.

Answer: Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep

Middle of the Road, consisting of singer Sally Carr, drummer Ken Andrew, guitarist Ian McCredie and bass player Eric McCredie, were originally formed in the late 1960s, performing first under the name Part Four, before taking part in the UK talent show "Opportunity Knocks" as Las Caracas in 1970. Following their success on "Opportunity Knocks", the band elected to move to Italy, owing to their lack of success in the UK. While in Italy, they came across producer Giacomo Tosti, who changed their sound to something more distinctive, and gave them their international break. It was following their partnership with Tosti that they began releasing records in the UK to significant success, beginning in January 1971 with the release of "Chirpy Chirpy, Cheep Cheep".

"Chirpy Chirpy, Cheep Cheep" was originally released by singer-songwriter Lally Stott in September 1970. Although the song was a Top 20 hit in Italy, it did not receive a wide release owing to the reluctance of Stott's record company to make it available overseas. As a result, although the original was subsequently a hit in Australia, Rhodesia and South Africa, the song was offered to other groups for release, one of whom was Middle of the Road. The group released their version of the song in Italy in October 1970, where it failed to chart, before it was then released in the UK in January 1971. The song became a slow-burner, only entering the UK chart at the end of May. However, it got a boost through airplay by BBC Radio 1 DJ Tony Blackburn, climbing to Number One in the UK on 19 June, and remaining there for five weeks. Middle of the Road's version of "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep" remains their biggest hit, and one of the few singles to have sold more than ten million physical copies.

Answer: Camerlengo

The Piscatory Ring, also known as the Ring of the Fisherman, is the ring traditionally worn by the Pope. It features a bas-relief of Saint Peter fishing from a boat; Saint Peter is universally regarded as the first Bishop of Rome, whom each Pope is seen as the successor of.

Until the mid-19th century, the ring was a signet that the Pope used to apply his seal to official documents with, while it has been the custom since the Middle Ages for Catholics, upon meeting the Pope, to show their devotion by kissing the ring. Upon the election of a new Pope, a new ring is cast, which includes not only the image of Saint Peter, but also an inscription of the Pope's papal name in Latin. Each new ring is different, and is produced according to the taste of its wearer - traditionally made from gold, each will be a different design and may include other accoutrements. During the Pope's coronation / inauguration ceremony, it is the Camerlengo, an official of the papal household responsible for administering the Holy See's property and revenues, who slips the new ring onto the Pope's finger.

Upon the death of the Pope, it is the duty of the Camerlengo to remove the ring from the Pope's finger and then, in the presence of the College of Cardinals, destroy it using a hammer (the papal bulla, or seal, is also destroyed at this time). This was done so that, during the sede vacante period between the death of the previous Pope and the election of a new one, the ring could not be used to issue forged documents. Although there is no set time for this to occur, the Universi Dominici gregis, which is the apostolic constitution that governs procedures during the sede vacante period, directs the College of Cardinals to arrange for the ring's destruction during a "meeting of the general congregation of cardinals". In modern times, this typically takes place at the general meeting of cardinals preceding the conclave to elect the new Pope.

Answer: Animaniacs

"Pinky and the Brain" first came about as a result of the personalities of Eddie Fitzgerald and Tom Minton, two of the producers of "Tiny Toon Adventures". Many of the staff working on "Tiny Toon Adventures" noted that Minton seemed to always be scheming to "take over the world", with Fitzgerald often comically agreeing with him. When a new series, "Animaniacs", began development, the animator Bruce Timm drew caricatures of Fitzgerald and Minton, with Tom Ruegger, the series creator, adding mouse ears and noses. It was this that ultimately sealed the concept of what became "Pinky and the Brain". Originally, the characters' personalities would also be based on Fitzgerald and Minton. However, although Fitzgerald's comic nonsense words became part of the character of Pinky, voice artist Maurice LaMarche, upon auditioning to play The Brain and noticing a resemblance to the actor, decided to base the character on Orson Welles.

"Pinky and the Brain" first appeared as a recurring segment on "Animaniacs", with their very first appearance coming on 14 September 1993. Two years later, on 10 September 1995, the characters' own series debuted in prime-time on Kids WB!, the new children's programming block on The WB. However, the show's debut season was up against the CBS news magazine programme "60 Minutes", which resulted in it getting mediocre ratings, and led to it being moved to Saturday mornings with the start of the second season. "Pinky and the Brain" lasted a total of four seasons and 65 episodes as its own series, in addition to the segments that were aired as part of other shows.