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Quiz about Things That Are In the Middle
Quiz about Things That Are In the Middle

Things That Are In the Middle Trivia Quiz


Things in the middle are not necessarily mediocre (although these two words derive from the same Latin root). How many of these "middle" things can you sort?
This is a renovated/adopted version of an old quiz by author OhRob

A multiple-choice quiz by FatherSteve. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
FatherSteve
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
59,274
Updated
Feb 07 22
# Qns
15
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
11 / 15
Plays
425
Last 3 plays: Guest 108 (9/15), Guest 86 (6/15), Guest 50 (11/15).
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Question 1 of 15
1. Three cartoon mascots were created and adopted by Kellogg's in the 1930s to advertise their product Rice Krispies. What is the name of the elf-like figure in the middle?
Hint


Question 2 of 15
2. The 2012 motion picture "Middle of Nowhere" won a directorial award at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. What is the meaning of the common expression "the middle of nowhere"? Hint


Question 3 of 15
3. A group of learned scholars is discussing "middle c." In which of the following disciplines is it most likely that they are expert?
Hint


Question 4 of 15
4. In which fabled land might one find Balrogs, Ents, and the River Running? That would be Middle _____.

Answer: (One Word)
Question 5 of 15
5. Which Scottish folk-rock band wrote and recorded "Stuck in the Middle with You" in 1973?
Hint


Question 6 of 15
6. The Middle Ages of Europe are generally divided into which three periods? Hint


Question 7 of 15
7. There are three parts to the human (mammalian) ear: the outer, the middle and the inner ear. What is the primary function of the middle ear? Hint


Question 8 of 15
8. Boxers are divided into classes based on their body weight. What are the common limits to "middleweight" boxers? Hint


Question 9 of 15
9. Who played the title character in US television's "Malcolm in the Middle" (2000-2006)? Hint


Question 10 of 15
10. What country is known in its own language as the "Middle Kingdom"?

Answer: (One Word)
Question 11 of 15
11. Mary Anne Evans, writing under the pseudonym George Eliot, wrote "Middlemarch" in 1871-2. What was Middlemarch?
Hint


Question 12 of 15
12. The Anglican Communion claims to be the Via Media; what is the meaning of this term? Hint


Question 13 of 15
13. Many of the world's major religions originated in the Middle East, notably Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Which of the following is NOT a religion which originated in the Middle East? Hint


Question 14 of 15
14. In Genesis 15, God commands Abraham to sacrifice a heifer, a goat, and a ram by cutting each down the middle to make two halves. What is the more modern usage of the expression "split down the middle"? Hint


Question 15 of 15
15. Samuel Beckett wrote "Dream of Fair to Middling Women" and Arthur Calder-Marshall wrote "The Fair to Middling." What does the expression "fair to middling" mean? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Three cartoon mascots were created and adopted by Kellogg's in the 1930s to advertise their product Rice Krispies. What is the name of the elf-like figure in the middle?

Answer: Crackle!

The first character, Snap!, was created by artist Vernon Grant in 1933. The other two characters -- Crackle! and Pop! -- were added in 1939. They appeared on the cereal box, in print advertising, in comics and eventually on television. Their names were chosen because they are onomatopoetic to the sounds made by Rice Krispies when milk is poured into the bowl. The word "crackle" derives from the Middle English verb "crackelen" which derived from the Old English "cracian" meaning to make a crackling noise. Compare the Proto-Germanic "krakojan."
2. The 2012 motion picture "Middle of Nowhere" won a directorial award at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. What is the meaning of the common expression "the middle of nowhere"?

Answer: a place far away from civilisation

The idiom "in the middle of nowhere" is used by urban people to describe any place which is far from the city, rustic, remote, and bucolic. Such a place is not only far from tall buildings but is also one where people and houses are few and far between. Such a place may not be literally remote but seems to be, when seen from the perspective of a city dweller.

The (somewhat snobby) expression has been common since the late 19th century.
3. A group of learned scholars is discussing "middle c." In which of the following disciplines is it most likely that they are expert?

Answer: musicology

Middle C is the first note of the C-major scale. It is associated with the term "do" (pronounced doh) when the scale is sung with words. Scientifically, middle C is 261.625565 hertz. Middle C is struck by depressing the fourth C key from the left on a standard piano keyboard with 88 keys (which is why its scientific denotation is C4).
4. In which fabled land might one find Balrogs, Ents, and the River Running? That would be Middle _____.

Answer: Earth

Middle Earth is a continent imagined by J.R.R. Tolkien, the setting for "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings." Balrogs (also known as Valaraukar) were Maiar in the service of Melkor. They were tall humanoid creatures surrounded by flame. Ents (also known as Onodrim) were tree-like creatures who protected forests of trees.

They were sentient; the Elves taught them to speak. The River Running (also known as Celduin) was a river of 600 Númenórean miles which flowed from the Front Gate of the Lonely Mountains, through the Long Lake and down through Rhovanion to the Sea of Rhûn.
5. Which Scottish folk-rock band wrote and recorded "Stuck in the Middle with You" in 1973?

Answer: Stealer's Wheel

Gerry Rafferty and Joe Egan wrote "Stuck in the Middle with You" and recorded it with their band Stealer's Wheel in 1973. The album did well, the single did better in Britain and overseas, and ascended the US Billboard Hot 100 chart to number six. Director Quentin Tarantino used it on the soundtrack of "Reservoir Dogs" (1992).

It was also used on the soundtrack of an episode of "The Wonder Years" also in 1992.
6. The Middle Ages of Europe are generally divided into which three periods?

Answer: Early, High, and Late

Not all scholars will agree but the consensus is that the Middle Ages in Europe extend from the 5th century into the late 15th century. These dates reflect the fall of the Western Roman Empire on one end and the beginnings of the Age of Discovery, the Reformation, and the Renaissance on the other.

While there is not complete agreement on the divisions of the Middle Ages, there is general assent to dividing them into Early, High and Late.
7. There are three parts to the human (mammalian) ear: the outer, the middle and the inner ear. What is the primary function of the middle ear?

Answer: transfer of waves from air to cochlear fluid

Sound waves are collected by the outer ear and resonate on the eardrum. In the middle ear, these acoustic waves in the air are converted into fluid waves within the cochlea. The middle ear is "housed" in the tympanic cavity, surrounded by the temporal bone.

While the middle ear also has other functions, its primary role is in converting sound waves in the air into sound waves in the fluids of the ear where they can be sensed and encoded by the auditory nerve.
8. Boxers are divided into classes based on their body weight. What are the common limits to "middleweight" boxers?

Answer: 154-160 pounds/69.85-72.57 kilograms

Since 1840, the middleweight division of boxers has allowed a weight of 154 to 160 pounds (69.85-72.57 kilograms). The class was created because it was thought to be unfair to pit middleweights against much larger heavyweight opponents. The other weight classes given are "tweeners": light middleweight (147-154 pounds/66.67-69.85 kilograms), super middleweight (160-168 pounds/72.57-76.20 kilograms); cruiserweight (175-200 pounds/79.37-90.71 kilograms).
9. Who played the title character in US television's "Malcolm in the Middle" (2000-2006)?

Answer: Frankie Muniz

The six-season television series revolves around an adolescent with an IQ of 165 which is very much out of place in his family. Humour follows. Frankie Muniz played Malcolm to great success. He has since appeared in motion pictures, television and as a voice actor in animations.

He was a contestant in "Dancing with the Stars." He was also a somewhat successful open-wheel race car driver.
10. What country is known in its own language as the "Middle Kingdom"?

Answer: China

The word "China" is not a term used by the Chinese to identify their own country. The Chinese word "zhongguo," which is how Chinese refer to their nation, means literally "middle kingdom." There are several senses in which this may be understood. For many centuries, the Chinese perceived themselves to be surrounded by uncultured barbarians and believed that they were the center of culture.

There are also Chinese writings which explain that China is an intermediary state between heaven and its gods and the rest of the world.
11. Mary Anne Evans, writing under the pseudonym George Eliot, wrote "Middlemarch" in 1871-2. What was Middlemarch?

Answer: a city in the English midlands

Evans' novel was subtitled "A Study in Provincial Life." She set her characters in a fictional town which she called Middlemarch. The story is set in 1829-1832. Unsurprisingly, she touches issues of marriage and the role of women in society, as well as upon politics and religion. Perhaps the most entertaining bits involve the townspeople's resistance to change.
12. The Anglican Communion claims to be the Via Media; what is the meaning of this term?

Answer: the middle of the road

Finding itself somewhere between Roman Catholicism on the one hand and Protestantism on the other, Anglican theologians often describe their path as the "via media" -- a Latin term meaning the middle way. The term is not original in this context but was rather previously used to describe an ethic advocating moderation in all things. Aristotle (384-322 BCE) was a proponent.

In a political context, the via media describes centrism -- a philosophy which stakes out a position between the extremes of left and right.
13. Many of the world's major religions originated in the Middle East, notably Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Which of the following is NOT a religion which originated in the Middle East?

Answer: Sikhism

The Middle East comprises the Levant, Arabian Peninsula, Anatolia (including modern Turkey and Cyprus), Egypt, Iran and Iraq. In his novel "Skinny Legs and All" (1990), author Tom Robbins states that the Middle East is the vagina through which the major religions were born and through which a new order of humanity must be born, as well. Sikhism arose in the Punjab area of South Asia, in what is now India and Pakistan.

The Baháʼí Faith was founded in Iran in 1863. Zoroastrianism was founded in central Iran 3500 years ago.

The Druze Faith arose in the Levant (Lebanon, Syria and Israel, in particular).
14. In Genesis 15, God commands Abraham to sacrifice a heifer, a goat, and a ram by cutting each down the middle to make two halves. What is the more modern usage of the expression "split down the middle"?

Answer: to divide anything into two equal parts

This modern expression arises in two distinct contexts. When two people are faced with the necessity of paying a bill for something from which they both benefited, the suggestion may be made that they "split it (the bill) down the middle" meaning that each pays an equal share.

When a committee or other group tasked with making a decision finds that they are equally divided as to the proper outcome, they may be described as "split down the middle" in the sense of being tied.
15. Samuel Beckett wrote "Dream of Fair to Middling Women" and Arthur Calder-Marshall wrote "The Fair to Middling." What does the expression "fair to middling" mean?

Answer: average, normal

Playwright Samuel Beckett (1906-1989) wrote his first novel, "Dream of Fair to Middling Women," in 1932 but no house would publish it. It was published three years after his death. English novelist Arthur Calder-Marshall (1908-1992) wrote "The Fair to Middling," a children's story, in 1959. From the early 1800s, the phrase "fair to middling" has been used to identify something which is average, normal, or typical.

It is an Americanism. It was first used to describe commodities -- cotton, cattle, rice, sugar -- but later came to be used to describe all manner of things and conditions. ["Fair to midland" is either a mondegreen or a slander on Midland, Texas.]
Source: Author FatherSteve

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