Kings Ransom Trivia Quiz

Answer: Intensity

A published author and a forced to be reckoned with in genre fiction since the mid-1970s, Stephen King may be one of the most recognizable names in any modern bookstore due in part to the dozens upon dozens of novels and short story collections he's written. In addition to the options provided here, some of his popular titles include "Carrie", "The Shining", "The Green Mile", and "It".

As for the odd one out, "Intensity" is a 1995 horror/thriller by Dean Koontz. A propulsive novel about a young woman who, after bearing witness to a serial killing, manages to stow away in the murderer's vehicle in an effort to save her friend.

Answer: Kings of Leon

Although the Kings of Leon released their first album in 2003, the alternative rock foursome didn't hit it big until 2008 when they released their multi-platinum record "Only by the Night", which featured the massive radio hits "Sex on Fire" and "Use Somebody". Though the album would hit number one in the UK and Australia, it would peak at number four on the Billboard 200 in the U.S.

The band would get their number one album in the States with "Walls", their seventh record, in 2016, before their subsequent albums would have diminishing chart returns.

Answer: William Lyon Mackenzie King

The grandson of another Canadian politician (William Lyon Mackenzie was Toronto's first mayor) William Lyon Mackenzie King became the longest-serving Canadian Prime Minister by the time he finished his tenures in office, racking up more than twenty years on Parliament Hill.

The catch was that all of his terms were non-consecutive. He led his party to victory in the early 1920s (for five years) before his first predecessor, Arthur Meighen, only managed three months in office. He came back in 1926, lasting until 1930 when he was succeeded by R. B. Bennett, and then he returned once more, midway through the Great Depression, to lead the country through World War II. He retired in 1948 and passed away in 1950.

Answer: Burger King

While Burger King was built up as a fast food chain in 1953, the Whopper was created as a staple 'large burger' for the company in 1957. Consisting of a beef patty, mayo, lettuce, tomato, pickles, ketchup, and sliced onion on a sesame seed bun, it predated McDonald's Big Mac by more than ten years, gaining a larger foothold in the restaurant market due to Burger King's franchising and expansion in the early 1960s.

The Whopper would persist as the brand's staple food item, often with variations like 'The Impossible Whopper' (made with a vegetable-based patty) and 'The Angry Whopper' (a spicier alternative).

Answer: Candy Crush Saga

A mobile game of bright colours, flashing lights, and simple concept, "Candy Crush Saga" was similar to "Bejeweled" and other 'swap' games of its ilk in that players needed to match colours and shapes to gain points and stack multipliers to either achieve a score threshold or a certain objective to pass each subsequent level. Eventually, players could lose lives and be blocked from continuing unless they waited a specific amount of time or paid for more attempts. Naturally, the game became a massive financial success.

King, the company behind it, formed in Sweden in 2003. They would be purchased by Activision-Blizzard (known for "Call of Duty" and "World of Warcraft") in 2016 and then Microsoft via acquisition in 2023.

Answer: Aragorn

Throughout JRR Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy -- both the books and the films -- Aragorn has an evolution that brings him from being a ranger to being both a leader and heir apparent of Isildur, an ancient king. By the time the story comes to a conclusion, Aragorn has not only led armies through battles against the Dark Lord Sauron's armies to give Frodo and Sam the chance to reach Mount Doom, but he's taken his rightful spot on the throne and wed his half-elf queen, Arwen.

In the Peter Jackson film trilogy, Aragorn is played by Viggo Mortensen.

Answer: Hungary

The Hungarian capital of Budapest is named as such because it incorporates the cities that previously existed, unamalgamated, on both sides of the Danube River. Fortunately, neither 'Buda' nor 'Pest' refers to a king (though 'Buda' derives, possibly, from the name of Atilla the Hun's brother).

As for the others, the capital of Mauritius is Port Louis, named after King Louis XV, the 18th-century French king responsible for its colonization. Guyana's capital, Georgetown, was named as such after King George III, who ruled Britain when the English took over the Dutch-then-French colony in the early nineteenth century. Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas, was named for King William III, the Prince of Orange-Nassau. Interestingly, before this, the city was known as Charles Town, also named for an English king.

Answer: NBA

California bears kings! The Los Angeles Kings, as a hockey team, were added to the NHL in 1967 and, at one time, was the home team of Wayne Gretzky. It took them until the 2010s to win the Stanley Cup, which they proceeded to do at the end of the 2011 and 2013 seasons.

The Sacramento Kings are much older, having been established as an NBA team back in 1923, though they weren't the Kings or from Sacramento at the time. Instead, this team jumped around from Rochester to Cincinnati to Kansas City before landing on the west coast in 1985. They took on the Kings name in Kansas City, but before that, they were the Royals, and before that, the Seagrams, named after a Canadian distillery.

Answer: King crab

A deep water crustacean, the king crab is a rather large creature, but it's quite well-known for being a creme-de-la-creme of shellfish due to its milder meat. Getting king crab, however, is a bit of an ordeal as it often involves large fishing boats heading into some of the most treacherous waters of the far north and far south.

The Discovery Channel TV show "Deadliest Catch" followed crews as they braved the Aleutian Islands waterways during peak crab season to catch these valuable creatures.

Answer: Alaskan King

This is a complicated one. Around the world, bed sizes typically progress from the smallest size at a a Twin, then a Single, then a Double, then a Queen, then a King (with some variations in between). Even then, a King bed's measurements can vary from country to country, which may make if difficult to buy sheets if you're travelling around with a mattress.

King has a handful of increased size options, and in North America these are generally named after states. A California King can increase a regular King bed size from 76 by 79.5 inches to the wider 72 by 83.5 inches option. An Alaskan King is colossal, clocking in at 102 inches by 102 inches. A perfect, massive square of furniture. It might as well be the whole room.