Guilden Days of Summer Trivia Quiz

Answer: In the opera "Porgy and Bess"

"Porgy and Bess", an opera about black residents of the made-up slum Catfish Row in Charleston, South Carolina, was based on the 1924 novel "Porgy" by Dubose Heyward (who, with Ira Gershwin, wrote most of the libretto to George Gershwin's music). Porgy struggled, over three acts, to save his beloved Bess from the clutches of crooks and drug dealers, but her addictions were stronger than he was. The opera has been criticized as being racist -- promoting the stereotypes of a long-past time and place -- but has also been recognized for jump-starting the careers of a large number of brilliant black singers, for whom operatic roles had been in short supply.

The song "Summertime" has largely escaped the criticism of its parent production, sparking imaginations as a soulful rumination on fleeting moments. It's been covered by artists as diverse as Glenn Miller, Janis Joplin, Billie Holiday, and Sublime -- and even played a starring role in Fantasia Barrino's "American Idol" victory in 2004.

Answer: Germany

Germany introduced Daylight Saving Time in 1916 (in effect from April 30 to October 1). The UK was the next country to adopt DST, implementing it from May 21 to October 1, 1916, followed by the U.S. in 1918. Necessity may be the Mother of Invention, but it would seem that War is the father!
Nannanut was quick to point out that Australia jumped on the Daylight Saving Time bandwagon in January (yup, that's when it's summer in that part of the world) 1917.
After surprising us with that information, Cymruabyth entertained us with another verse from her song.
"Through hot summer days, we're a festival city,
From really cool jazz, to folk music and Fringe.
We've got lakes close at hand, with some wonderful beaches,
And it's just those dang mosquitoes that make me cringe."

Answer: Chad and Jeremy

Chad and Jeremy recorded the song simply entitled "A Summer Song" and the whole lyric personified what summer was all about, at least to a teenager at the time. You were out of school with no commitments, goofing around with friends and there she (or he) was and suddenly you were madly in love...well, at least until the next week!

Answer: "Cruel Summer" (Bananarama)

Three modestly talented young British women who called themselves Banararama had a hit with "Cruel Summer" back in the early eighties. The other songs were sixties chart hits.

Answer: A man's head in profile, composed entirely of summer fruits, vegetables, and grains

Arcimboldo (1527-1593) was famous for such whimsical paintings, which are a cross between portrait and still-life. In some cases, the portrait is made up of the objects of the subject's profession (such as "The Cook", "The Lawyer", and "The Librarian"); others are allegorical figures. "Allegory of Summer" is one of four paintings depicting the seasons.

The subject's face is composed entirely of ripe summer fruits, vegetables, and grains. His nose is a cucumber, the cheek a large peach, and the chin a pear.

The hair and eyebrows are shafts of wheat, the ear is corn (of course!), the lips ripe currants and cherries, and an opened pea pod comprises the teeth. Among the other assorted produce are bulbs of garlic, squashes, peppers, a lemon, and an eggplant.

The clothes are woven from wheat straw; the artist's name and the year are embroidered onto the collar and shoulder, and the boutonniere is an artichoke. The fantastic figure is crowned with a fruited headpiece that Carmen Miranda might have envied, comprising figs, grapes, cherries, and an overripe melon.

Answer: The Brooklyn Dodgers

Led by Duke Snider, Pee Wee Reese, Roy Campanella, Gil Hodges, and the immortal Jackie Robinson, the Dodgers prevailed over cross-metropolis rivals, the New York Yankees, then in the middle of the greatest dynasty in baseball history. It was the only World Series the Dodgers would win in Brooklyn, before moving to Los Angeles in 1958.

The book was not so much a sports chronicle as it was a character study, both of the Dodger players and Kahn's own relationship with his father.

Answer: Summer and Smoke

"Summer and Smoke", originally staged in 1948 and penned by Tennessee Williams, made it to the big screen in 1961. Alma and John, neighbors in a southern US town all their lives, couldn't have been more fundamentally different. She was genteel, spiritual and mannered to the point of frustration, while Dr. John was impulsive in his behavior and scientific with a passion ("if it can't be seen or touched it simply isn't real").

As happens in Williams' plays the street that separated the two became a lot less wide. Brilliant wordplay and startling acting (in the film by Geraldine Page and Laurence Harvey) erupted in something both redemptive, conclusive and about as reliable as a fiery volcano. You knew they were getting somewhere when, near the end of the story, Dr. John was heard to observe that "the soul is as thin as smoke, but nevertheless it is there.

This statement was made, for the record, soon after Alma announced that the smoke "comes from my burning inside". Clearly, all was hotter than a firecracker by then.

Answer: France

According to The World Tourism Organization, France consistently leads the list as the most visited country by foreign tourists. In almost every case, France gets about 20 million more foreign visitors than the next most visited country, Spain.

Answer: fry eggs

Actually, I've never tried it. I'd probably go with black asphalt instead of cream-colored sidewalk if I did though. However, a few years back, someone wrote up a cooking experiment in the newspaper, that they had tried on their car's dashboard. Yes, my friends, they were successful in frying an egg! I don't think the bacon turned out so well, though.

Answer: All of these

The Helensburgh area just south of Sydney suffered extensive damage during Christmas 2001 - Black Christmas. The fire also raged in the nearby Royal National Park destroying native vegetation and precious wildlife.

The Blue Mountains area west of Sydney was the victim of savage fires in late 2001 and early 2002 at the peak of the summer season. It was a bleak New Year for many residents.
In January 2003 the area near Canberra known as Mt. Stromlo was almost destroyed in a massive fire storm. A number of local residents lost everything and the telescopes at Mt. Stromlo observatory were gutted. Many of the domes melted in the intense heat.