Cool Zooms, Part XLVI Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ethiopia

Canis simensis has been known by many names including the Abyssinian wolf, Simien fox, Simien jackal, Ethiopian jackal, red fox, red jackal, Abyssinian dog, and cuberow. It is now most commonly referred to as the Ethiopian wolf. Its mitochondrial DNA shows a closer link to modern grey wolves than to any African canids like the jackal.

Abyssinia and Ethiopia were interchangeable names for much of modern history with Abyssinia being derived from the Arabic al-Habash.

The Elvis song 'Wolf Call' is from the soundtrack to the 1965 movie 'Girl Happy'. It was never released as a single. The Jubilee Four and the Carole Lombard Trio sing the backing vocals for the song.

This questioned was howled into the quiz by Phoenix Rising member tazman6619.

Answer: Words

Arthur Wynne (1871 - 1945) was the American inventor of the modern crossword puzzle. Born near Liverpool in England, he moved to Pittsburgh PA in 1891 when he was 19 and worked on the local paper 'Pittsburgh Press'. He later moved to New York City where he worked at another newspaper, the 'New York World'. In 1913 he published the first 'Word-Cross' an innovative puzzle that features, at the time, many concepts found in contemporaneous crosswords, but the shape of the first was in the shape of a diamond with a hollow center. The puzzle was well received so it became a regular feature. A type-setting error caused the puzzle to be called a crossword. The name stuck and the new type of puzzle spread quickly into many other newspapers around the world.

'Words', a Bee Gees song originally, was recorded by Elvis Presley on the live album 'Elvis in Person at the International Hotel' in 1970.

This question was inserted into the quiz at 2 Across by team member JCSon, who like many on the team is a cruciverbalist.

Answer: Sophia Loren

'It Started in Naples' was a romantic comedy about an American lawyer (Clark Gable) who travels to the city of Naples in south-west Italy to sort out the affairs of his late brother. While there he discovers that his brother had a secret life, including an orphaned son who is being cared for by an aunt (Sophia Loren). Gable's character duly falls in love with Loren's and the pair make a new home together in Naples with their joint nephew. The film earned Loren a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress. It was also the final film starring Gable to be released in his lifetime as he died just three months after its initial release.

Naples features in more than just this one movie - Dean Martin sang 'Write to Me from Naples' in 1957 and an Elvis Presley cover of the same song appeared on his 1984 box set album 'A Golden Celebration'.

This question was acted out by Phoenix Rising's Fifiona81.

Answer: Pro Wrestling

Its full name is The Snake Pit Pro Wrestling Academy and is run by coaches Jake 'the Snake' Roberts, D'lo Brown and Sinn Bodhi. Jake is a retired pro wrestler who had an interview show called 'The Snake Pit' when he wrestled in the WWF. D'lo Brown is a former Intercontinental Champion in the WWE. Sinn Bodhi is a former WWE 'SmackDown' wrestler.

'Viva Las Vegas' was a single from the soundtrack of the movie of the same name starring Elvis and Ann-Margaret. Both were released in 1964. The movie has become one of Elvis' most popular and iconic films.

This question was raced into the quiz by Phoenix Rising member tazman6619.

Answer: Golf

The 'green' or 'putting green' is the closely cropped grass area around the hole (or cup) in golf. In miniature golf the entire playing area is the "putting green".

The country song, 'Green, Green Grass of Home' was written by Claude 'Curly' Putman Jr. and recorded by dozens of artists in the 1960s and 1970s. In particular, it was recorded and released in 1975 on Elvis's album entitled, 'Today'. As usual for country music, it's a sad theme, this time one in which the singer awakens from a pleasant dream to the realization he's on death row awaiting execution and the green grass is his burial site.

This question is being written in early spring in the US and Phoenix Rising's mike32768 can't wait for his own 'green grass' but the certainly not for the purpose of that alluded to in the song.

Answer: Spiders

Mount Shasta has a reputation for weird happenings, including this alleged incident. In addition to the boy's story, his grandmother recalls that she awoke face down in the dirt and claims she had a puncture wound on the nape of her neck reminiscent of a spider bite. Her friend who had accompanied her the trip, but who had a separate camper to sleep in also complained of feeling ill with 'bites' to his neck.

In 1955 Elvis covered Junior Parker's song 'Mystery Train' which is considered to be an enduring county music classic.

This question was mysteriously placed into the quiz by smpdit, who has no intention of going near Mount Shasta if there are spiders that bite there, thank you very much, no siree.

Answer: Puma

This beautiful area is not actually a desert - oh, and there are no lions around. It was Mexico City's first national park, located only one hour's drive from Mexico City. In 1521 Spanish troops captured the area in which Mexico City is now located, but at the time it was established, it was remote and sparsely populated. Legend has it that the Spanish settlers were surprised at the number of puma (which they called lions) they encountered there. To add complexity to the history, the surname of a family that helped a religious order to settle in the area was 'Leones'. There is still a monastery on the site (now a museum), the second to have occupied the site. It was declared an ecological reserve in 1876, to preserve the natural springs providing fresh water to Mexico City.

The song 'Mexico' was first released in the movie 'Fun In Acapulco' the top-grossing movie musical of 1963. It starred Ursula Andress and Elvis Presley, and according to Elvis "Life begins when you're in Mexico".

This question was pounced on by Phoenix Rising member VegemiteKid and settled peacefully into the quiz.

Answer: John Knox

I heard Elvis Presley's version of 'Polk Salad Annie' before I'd heard Tony Joe White's original of the song (both released in 1969) and often wondered if it was written about US President James Polk. Boy, was I way off the mark on that one.

A former Governor of Tennessee, James Polk served as the President of the United States between 1845 and 1849, making him the eleventh US President. Please don't think that he was named after the John Knox in the question; that Knox certainly wasn't the inspiration. His mother gave him the Christian names James Knox in honour of her own father.

John Knox (1514-1572) reserved his own place in history as one of the leaders of the Scottish Reformation, which saw the country break away from the Papacy and develop a Calvinist movement. Knox would become the founder of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland.

In the eyes of Phoenix Rising's pollucci19 this question is pure gold... but, then again, he is thinking of another Knox.

Answer: Jacks

A jack or a knave is a playing card associated with English or French decks and is normally attired in courtier fashions associated with the 16th and 17th centuries. Positioned between the 10 and the Queen, the Jack is the lowest rated court card.

With the English deck, the court cards refer to no-one in particular; in the French version, each court card represents a historical figure:
The Jack of spades is Ogier the Dane (a knight of Charlemagne).
The Jack of hearts is La Hire (French warrior).
The Jack of diamonds is Hector (hero of the 'Iliad').
The Jack of clubs is either Lancelot or Judas Maccabeus.

In 1969, Elvis recorded 'From a Jack to a King', a song made famous by its writer and recording artist Ned Miller in 1957.

This question was shuffled into the quiz by that Jack-of-all-trades, Phoenix Rising team member, 1nn1.

Answer: Person characterised by violent actions

A person characterised by violent actions is more commonly named a cyclone or a tornado.

Boots are generally seen as footwear that provides a form of protection for the feet in a variety of roles. These could include occupations such as construction workers or soldiers, sportspeople such as footballers or recreational hobbyists such as hikers. They can also function as fashion accessories. Alternatively, usually on the sporting field, it can mean to kick... "Oh he really laid the boot into that one". In the computing world, booting a computer means to get it started, usually by inserting an operating system.

Other uses for the word boot include: The trunk of a car in most Commonwealth countries is called a boot and, to give someone the boot, means to dismiss them or fire them from their place of work. Elvis Presley sang to us about 'Big Boots' in 1960 from his film 'G.I. Blues'; however, he was using it to describe a person with that nickname because he was more than most men.

This question was kicked into shape by Phoenix Rising's pollucci19.

Answer: The Hound of the Baskervilles

The 'Hound of the Baskervilles', a novel narrated by Dr Watson, was written by Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle and published first in 1902. Set mostly on Dartmoor, it opens with Dr. Mortimer calling on Holmes to tell him of the mysterious death of Sir Charles Baskerville. He had noted huge prints of a gigantic hound near the body of Sir Charles. He retails the mysterious curse of the Baskervilles to Holmes, in which an antecedent, Hugo Baskerville, was killed by a huge demonic hound. Using the cover of the hound story, local resident Mr. Jack Stapleton unleashes a hound of his own to deadly effect. Holmes sets a trap, and the killer-dog is slain; while Stapleton escapes, he dies in the quicksand of the moors.

Elvis Presley first performed 'Hound Dog' for a nationwide television audience on The Milton Berle Show in June 1956, though he had been performing it in live shows at the New Frontier Hotel from mid-April that year. Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller were the song writers, and the song has been recorded more than 250 times.

This question was carefully hounded into the quiz by Phoenix Rising member VegemiteKid.

Answer: The Alamo

This movie, set in the mission town of San Antonio, tells the story of the hopeless defence of the Alamo, a battle in the Texican's struggle for independence from Mexico. The ragtag army that met Santa Ana's Mexican army consisted of several hundred men in Colonel William Travis's regular army, the militia led by Jim Bowie, and Davy Crockett's Tennessean renegades. All except three people were killed. While not entirely true to the actual events, this epic, John Wayne's directorial debut, had mixed reviews, with some expressing the view that the dialogue was verbose and stilted, and others suggesting that the action sequences saved the film.

First recorded and released by Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys in November 28, 1938, Elvis Presley's recording of 'San Antonio Rose' was released in 1999 on the album 'The Home Recordings', a collection of Elvis Presley's home recordings from the 1950s and 1960s.

This question was strummed into the quiz by some-time guitar player and singer, Phoenix Rising member VegemiteKid.

Answer: Don't Worry, Be Happy

Originally released with the movie 'Cocktail' in 1988, 'Don't Worry, Be Happy' by Bobby McFerrin became the first a cappella song to reach the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song reached this peak position on September 24, 1988, and maintained the top spot for two weeks. All the instrumental sounds heard in the song are vocalizations made by McFerrin. 'Don't Worry, Be Happy' won Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, Song of the Year, and Record of the Year at the 1989 Grammy Awards.

Elvis Presley's song, 'A Whistling Tune', from his 1962 record and the 1962 movie 'Kid Galahad', features similar happy-go-lucky whistling sequences. The song reached number 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

Phoenix Rising's Rizeeve composed this question without the aid of any instrumental accompaniment.

Answer: Sylvia Nasar

Sylvia Nasar (b. 1947, Rosenheim, Germany) is the daughter of Rusi Nasar, an Uzbek who worked for the CIA, and a Bavarian mother. She is a journalist, biographer and academic. In 1998 she published "A Beautiful Mind", an unauthorised biography of John Forbes Nash Jr.

Nash (1928-2015) was an American mathematician whose research interests included game theory, differential geometry and partial differential equations. He shared the 1994 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences and the 2015 Abel Prize (Mathematics). A 2001 film inspired by Ms. Nasar's biography starred Russell Crowe and was directed by Ron Howard. The film won four Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director.

Elvis Presley's 1972 album 'Elvis Now' contained the song, 'Sylvia'. The songwriters were Geoff Stephens and Les Reed.
"There's nothing in the world like Sylvia
The only one I'm thinking of is Sylvia
Feeling so sad now, I'll be so glad now
If I just had my Sylvia with me"

This question was authorised by Phoenix Rising and written by team member psnz.

Answer: Shoes

According to Wordsmith.org discalced (pronounced dis-KALST) is an adjective meaning "without shoes". It is from Latin dis- (apart, away) + calceare (to fit with shoes), from calceus (shoe), from calx (heel). The word discalced is often used of members of religious orders who go barefoot or wear sandals.

Being a discalced congregation distinguishes them from other branches of the same order. St Francis of Assisi was the first to introduce to the western world the practice of going unshod for men and St Clare of Assisi introduced it for women.

'Walk a Mile in My Shoes' was recorded by Elvis on his live album 'On Stage' released in 1970. The song was written by Joe South, who had a hit with it in the same year.

This question was walked into the quiz by Phoenix Rising member lg549 who was wearing footwear at the time.

Answer: Flaming Star

The Flaming Star Nebula, catalogued as IC405, is approximately 1500 light years from Earth in the Auriga constellation. Able to be seen with a small telescope, the Nebula measures some five light years across and features lanes of red and blue dust and gas.

Comet C/2018-Y1 Iwamoto is a fast-moving comet travelling at a speed of 66km/second, roughly five times faster than Halley's comet. Discovered by astronomer Masayuki Iwamoto in 2018, his comet passed close to the Earth in February 2019.

Elvis Presley released the song 'Flaming Star' to coincide with his appearance in the 1960 western of the same name. The song was released in 1961 as the first track on an EP containing four songs.

This question was completed by Phoenix Rising's leith90 whose first thought was that a cloud of gas and dust was a personal description, not a nebula.

Answer: Avalon

Opened in 1976, the dirt track raceway at Avalon (between Melbourne and Geelong) filled the gap left by the earlier closure of the track at Torquay. World Series Sprint cars are one popular attraction at this short (0.39 km, 0.24 miles) oval track as are wingless sprint cars and cars with side cars. Nearby Avalon airport has hosted the Australian International Airshow.

The town name does have links back to Arthurian lore. A previous owner of the land upon which the town was formed, James Austin, returned to England and purchased the Glastonbury Abbey ruins. His nephews developed the property which they then called Avalon. This then became the name of the town. The Austin family has a more notorious historical footnote to their name - they had a major role in the introduction and spread of rabbits into Australia.

The link here to Elvis is the song 'Speedway' from the movie of the same name.

This question driven at pace into this quiz and then parked by PR member, MikeMaster99 who has played cricket at the picturesque oval nearby Avalon Speedway - a little more sedate than the frenzy of the high-octane vehicles!

Answer: The Young and the Restless

'The Young and the Restless' was created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell and debuted on CBS in 1973. While the real Genoa City in Wisconsin had a population of only about 3,000 in 2020, the Genoa City is portrayed as a metropolis. Over the show's more than 12,000 episodes prominent and not always nice families including the Brooks, Foster, Williams, Abbott, Newman, Barber and Winters have been written into the show. The show has been both critically popular (through 2020 it had won 11 Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Drama Series) and extremely popular as it was the highest-rated daytime drama for 32 straight years from 1988-2020.

The song 'Young and Beautiful' was the last song of the popular 1957 film 'Jailhouse Rock' that featured Elvis Presley's talents as both a singer and actor.

This question was dramatized into the quiz by Phoenix Rising team member Triviaballer who is no longer young anymore but is sometimes restless.

Answer: Game Boy Color

In 1966 Elvis Presley made us 'Spinout' with his song 'Adam and Evil' but in 2000 Gameboy Color made us spin-off with Austin and Dr. Evil. Released in 2000 the video game was not well received because (a) it didn't vary a great deal from the previously released 'Oh, Behave!' (b) poor audio and poor graphics and (c) as one critic described it 'ear-bleeding music'.

Apart from the simulation of Dr. Evil's computer there are a range of mini games included within the pack such as 'Mojo Maze', which similar in set-up to the 'Pac-Man' games, a strategy game similar to 'Reversi' called 'Domination', a motor bike racing game called 'Kin-Evil' and a 'Rock-Paper-Scissors' styled game.

This question was written by Phoenix Rising's pollucci19 who calls himself a man of mystery when it comes to video games... in other words, he doesn't have a clue.

Answer: Good luck

There is a long list of symbols, signs and charms which signify good luck. Often these depend on a particular culture such as the number 7 in western societies, or 8 in Chinese. Their origins are equally diverse, often with bases in folklore, mythology or religion.

Double-yolk eggs are comparatively rare (about 1 in 1,200) and may result from issues with a hen's reproductive system. Successful hatchings from these eggs seldom occurs without human intervention because the chicks interfere with one another. Despite this, a double-yolked egg is a good luck sign, perhaps linked to fertility.

Encountering dolphins at sea has traditionally been regarded as a good luck sign. Dolphins are helpers and guides, and stories of people being rescued by dolphins abound.

Cornicellos (also cornetto, corno or corno portafortuna 'horn that brings luck') are talismans of Italian origin used to protect against the evil eye and bad luck. These link back to mythology where Zeus made a gift from a broken goat's horn, filling it with flowers and fruit (a cornucopia).

Elvis Presley's 'Good Luck Charm' spent two weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 list in 1962. The song was written by Aaron Schroeder and Wally Gold. Elvis later included it on his 1963 album 'Elvis Golden Records, Volume 3'.

Phoenix Rising's psnz feels that his Fun Trivia team should also be regarded as a good luck symbol.