Where There's Smoke... Trivia Quiz

Answer: Haman

Haman was a high ranking adviser to Xerxes I and was often labelled Haman the Evil to reflect his relentless persecution of the Jews. The Jew that Haman despised the most was Mordecai because he refused to bow before him. At the urging of his wife, who was also of mean spirit, he built a gallows from which to hang the innocent Mordecai. The plan beyond the hanging was to go "merrily unto a banquet". Haman's plot backfired and it was he, along with his ten sons, who was suspended from his own creation.

This question was completed by Phoenix Rising member pollucci19.

Answer: Ring of Fire

A mandala is a symbol of spiritual and ritual significance in Indian religions. It means "circle" in the ancient Sanskrit language and represents the universe. The underlying shape of most mandalas is a circle within a square. Some mandalas have another larger circle around the square and this is the outer ring known as the Ring of Fire. The Ring of Fire symbolises wisdom. It contains eight charnel grounds along its perimeter that represent the transience of life. A charnel ground is a site where bodies are left to decompose in the open.

This question was completed by Phoenix Rising member purelyqing.

Answer: Yes

The turtle dove of literature and song fame is the European turtledove (Streptopelia turtur) which is a member of the bird family of pigeons and doves (Columbidae). There is also an Asian Oriental turtledove (S. orientalis) and the African dusky turtledove (S. lugens). The bird is known for its purring song, a low, vibrating "turrr, turrr" sound, from which the bird's name is derived. The "turtle" of the name is derived from Latin turtur. There is no connection to the reptile turtle. The derivation of that animal's name came originally from the Latin tortuca.

Turtledoves (also called mourning doves) will mate for life and when one of the pair dies, the partner will care for the dead mate. However, the remaining dove will then seek another partner.

This question was completed by Phoenix Rising member 1nn1.

Answer: A public impediment to the contracting of a second marriage in canon law

In the Roman Catholic faith, a second marriage is invalid if there is a pre-existing legitimate first marriage. The first marriage constitutes a "prior bond" and presents an obstacle to the second marriage. This obstacle is termed a "ligamen". As an example:

James was once married to Alice. They have since divorced.
James enters a marriage with Lisa. Alice was still living at the time of James and Lisa's marriage.
James's first marriage to Alice was not nullified by the Church.
Now James ends his second marriage. He and Lisa divorce.
Lisa wishes to marry Peter.
Lisa proves that her marriage to James was void because James's first marriage was still valid in the eyes of the Church. Therefore, there was an impediment of ligamen arising from the James-Alice union.
Lisa is now free to marry whomever she chooses.

(Example adapted from the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA)

This question was completed by Phoenix Rising member purelyqing.

Answer: Pitman

A collier is someone who works down a coalmine or a pit - hence "Pitman". As a surname it is topographical in nature i.e. they describe the surroundings. Topographical names were amongst the earliest created as the natural surroundings provided easily recognisable landmarks. In the case of a pitman it meant one who lived near a hollow in the ground or a quarry or pit. A collier is also a term used to describe a ship that carts coal.
A chandler makes candles, a carpenter works with wood, and a cooper makes barrels.

You may have noticed that our story-line follows the "Twelve Days of Christmas". The standard version of the verse uses the term "four calling birds", which was derived from "colly birds", an Old English term for a blackbird. We have twisted it slightly here and changed it to collie man which is a slang term for a marijuana seller - hence the use of the words push, weed and grass in the question (puns intended). In this case he's our informant, our man on the street.

This question was completed by Phoenix Rising member smpdit.

Answer: Mount Olympus

In ancient Greek mythology, Zeus was considered the king of the gods. He was the offspring of Cronus and Gaia. He would rise and overthrow Cronus to become king, thus fulfilling an oracle that prophesied that Cronus would be overthrown by his son.
His dominion is the sky and he is often depicted with a thunderbolt as his weapon.

(NB) Zeus was never the president of a secret society called "The Five Golden Rings", that part of the story is pure fiction.

This question was completed by Phoenix Rising member purelyqing.

Answer: A fish stew from the Marseilles region of France

Bouillabaisse is a stew made from bony fish. It is originally a recipe from Marseilles fishermen who could not sell rascasse (rockfish) to local markets. The recipe varies, from region to region but by the "Michelin Guide Vert", the four essential ingredients are rascasse, olive oil, saffron and the "freshness of the fish".
Celebrity chef Julia Child says the secret is in the soup base which comprises garlic, onions, tomatoes, olive oil, fennel, saffron, thyme, bay leaf, and orange peel (dried). Shellfish are added and the soup and broth are served separately.

Croque-Monsieur is a baked ham and cheese sandwich dipped in egg and grilled
Ratatouille is a traditional French Provencal vegetable stew, from Nice.
Coq au vin ("rooster with wine") is a French dish of chicken braised with wine, lardons (small chunks of bacon fat), mushrooms, and sometimes garlic. The wine is nearly always red usually a Burgundy.

This question was completed by Phoenix Rising member 1nn1.

Answer: Betta

Siamese fighting fish are a popular aquarium fish. The scientific name for Siamese fighting fish is Betta splendens, hence they are often referred to simply as Betta. Siamese fighting fish are territorial and it is advisable to house each fish separately to prevent fighting, particularly in the males. As the name suggests, Siamese fighting fish are native to Southeast Asia, concentrating around the Mekong river basin spanning Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.
New varieties of the fish are constantly being developed by fish breeders. Although the fish display intense colours only when agitated, breeders have successfully developed species that are permanently brightly coloured.

"Betta" is a homophone for "bettor", which is a person who bets, often habitually, hence the laugh out loud in the question.

This question was completed by Phoenix Rising member purelyqing.

Answer: Spider

Not only do the Huntsman spiders come with eight legs they are also blessed with eight eyes. The larger variety are also called Wood spiders (hence the Woody reference above) and are most at home dwelling in forests. Other varieties include the giant crab, rain and lizard eating spiders. Most huntsman spiders don't build webs as adults, instead they live up to their name and forage for their food. They will use venom to immobilise their prey and also to assist with their digestion.

This question was completed by Phoenix Rising member pollucci19.

Answer: A grifter swindles by fraud, a blackmailer uses unjustified threats

A grifter is essentially a con artist. He's liable to try and sell you the Eiffel Tower as a cruise liner or the moon as an excellent short term property investment. They're also known as welchers, beguilers, cardsharps, chisellers and defrauders. They're confidence tricksters. A blackmailer is an extortionist who seeks to extract money, a service or an act from a victim by exposing a misdemeanour or criminal act that the victim may have been involved in or threatening to release information that may not have creditability but could still prove harmful to the victim.

This question was completed by Phoenix Rising member pollucci19.

Answer: No

A Gibson is a martini made with either vodka or gin, but definitely not rum. It contains a garnish of cocktail onions. There are many theories behind its name, my favourite is that a business man called Gibson, in an attempt to keep a clear head when all about were overindulging, asked the barman for a martini glass of water, garnished with an onion so he could identify it.

How to make a Gibson - chill a martini glass, add ice to a Boston shaker, add 75ml of gin or vodka and add up to 15ml of white vermouth - the less you add the drier the drink. Stir - don't shake, you don't want to break the ice. Strain into the chilled glass, garnish with cocktail onions and serve. It isn't served on the rocks.

This question was completed by Phoenix Rising member smpdit.

Answer: Firearm

A piece is a firearm, usually a handgun. There is a belief that "piece" became a corruption of "peace", which is a short form of "Colt Peacemaker", a particular type of handgun introduced in 1873. However there are references to the term piece being used to describe any portable firearm as early as 1575, predating the Peacemaker by almost 300 years.

It was inferred in the question that the air in the dance club was tainted with narcotic. In the "Twelve Days of Christmas" the tenth gift introduced were the "lords a leaping". Leaping is also a slang term for getting high.

This question was completed by Phoenix Rising member smpdit.

Answer: A US East Coast Train

The Orange Blossom Special was a luxury train that ran between New York City and West Palm Beach and, two years later, Miami in the United States between 1925 and 1953. It ran only during the winter season. The route was 1327 miles (2036km) long and took 35 hours. A spur service went to Tampa and St Petersburg. The train was meant to lure wealthy business folk away from the cold north east to the warmer climes of Florida during winter.

This question was completed by Phoenix Rising member 1nn1.

Answer: Money

"For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs" (1 Timothy 6:10). This message was delivered by Paul in a letter to Timothy in an effort to steer him away from "false teachers" who would change the meanings of doctrines for their own ends. The common misconception that has arisen from this quote is that money is the root of all evil whereas the real sin is the twisted desire for it.

This question was completed by Phoenix Rising member pollucci19.

Answer: Giovanni Sableman

In the style of good Agatha Christie mysteries the obvious is placed right before the readers eyes and then it's surrounded by deceptions and red herrings. The introduction was the key to the solution, which is why it was marked (IMPORTANT). In Question 15 you were also asked to remember the important stuff, once again referring you to the introduction.

Discounting yourself and your partner there were five characters in this scenario. One was a victim and the other four the suspects. Hopefully you picked up on the fact that they were colour coded;
Blue was represented by LeBleu Partridge (the victim). Bleu is French for the colour blue.
Black was Giovanni Sableman. Sable is a synonym for black (Refer to the Free Online Dictionary).
Red was Ms. Scarlett.
Yellow was Citron Goldenrod. Both Citron and Goldenrod are recorded as shades of yellow.
Green was Jade Moss. Once again, both are shades of green.

The introduction asks you to find a "murky" being. It tells you he's a "dark" fiend with an "ebony" heart and a "midnight" soul. All four of these words are used to describe "black". Of your four suspects only one was represented by a dark colour - black i.e. Giovanni Sableman (meaning black man). The others were all bright colours - Red, Yellow and Green. (Remember that Blue, which could also be dark, was the victim).

While this wasn't required to solve the mystery we also made references to "The Man in Black", Johnny Cash, whenever we created a question or storyline that centred on Sableman. In Question 2, where we'd indicated that the killer had killed before, the answer to the question was "Ring of Fire", one of Cash's most famous songs. In Question 12, when we meet Sableman for the first time, we enter his casino "Get Rhythm", which was the B-side to Johnny's 1956 single "I Walk the Line". In Question 13 there are two Cash songs referenced, his 2003 single "Hurt" (in the quote "get loyal or get hurt") and a 1965 single "Orange Blossom Special" (the drink that was offered). Finally, also in Question 13, Sableman refers to the casino as "Giovanni's Lucre". Giovanni is Italian for John (read: Johnny) and lucre is money (read: cash).

We also wanted the killer to say "I did it" without being too overtly obvious and in Question 13 Sableman does say "I've fixed that".

The introduction also suggested that you that you should "leave alone those that have been touched by red/fish". Whenever the story-line focused on the "bright" suspects we inserted either the colour red or some link to fish, which was your signal to ignore them as a suspect.

Ms. Scarlett is the obvious one. Her name means red but we also threw a red cape into the mix (see Question 9).
Citron Goldenrod is examined in Questions 7 and 8. Within these we recorded (a) seafood restaurant (b) bouillabaisse and (c) Siamese fighting fish.
Jade Moss is introduced as a lover in Question 4 where we indicated that "something fishy is going on here". She returned in Question 11, though here the clue was a little obscure when we said that she'd "piked" out.

This question was completed by Phoenix Rising member pollucci19.