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Quiz about Fruit Flies Like a Banana
Quiz about Fruit Flies Like a Banana

Fruit Flies Like a Banana Trivia Quiz


These are draft notes for an unstarted thriller based upon the vagaries of the English language and containing plenty of old chestnuts. I plan to call it, "Unnatural Conclusions". Resemblance to the work of any existing author is entirely intentional.

A multiple-choice quiz by glendathecat. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
glendathecat
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
322,777
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Easy
Avg Score
9 / 10
Plays
1759
Awards
Top 5% quiz!
Last 3 plays: Kabdanis (3/10), fado72 (10/10), Upstart3 (5/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. The first clue, found inscribed in tiny lettering on a lily pad, will read, "Fruit flies like a banana". It is signed by "Ferret Goth Kim" but, remind me, who is it that first came out with this quote? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. My leading character will be a Harvard professor of cymbalogy and wordplay specialist, Dr. Tim Pani, whom I shall pair with a pretty, young computer programmer, Sophie Chetsokleva. How can a banana fly? Sophie discovers the existence of a banana bird, the Jamaican Oriole, and flies to the Caribbean to investigate. Tim is asked where she has gone - Jamaica? What does Tim reply? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. The investigation hots up. Tim and Sophie are called to the museum of old fruits in Wales. The curator, Dai Dretchett-Lee, has been murdered but, before he died, he cut himself into four pieces and left a message on each. What happens next? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. On the first body part is drawn a Grecian urn. This will give scope for our intrepid duo to wander round ancient sites in Greece. What's a Grecian urn? Which of the following will be their conclusion? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Next comes a picture of a Venetian blind. Cue more old buildings and some high-speed chases around the canals of Venice. First, though, Sophie will ask, "How do you make a Venetian blind?" What is Tim's reply? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. The third symbol is a drawing of a Hindu. The action will move to India after Sophie has asked, "What's a Hindu?" The answer? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. On the final body part, has been carved the letters, UPDOG. What is Tim's response when Sophie dutifully asks the question, "What's UPDOG"? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. Nearly forgot. I want to include the Catholic Church at the heart of this mystery. What would be the most appropriate punny name for my disreputable Catholic suspect? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Tim and Sophie's next destination will be the Vatican after discovering that all the world's fruit flies are being drawn in that direction. They peer into the headquarters of the Swiss Guard. Tim says that he can see a Steinway. What does Tim reply when Sophie queries, "What's a Steinway?"? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. In an inevitable climactic twist, it will turn out that the Catholic Church had nothing to do with anything. The real villain does not dress in scarlet or purple but is better known for being green. He has lured the flies to Italy for lunch. Who is responsible for the book's closing line - "Isn't time fun when you're having flies?" Hint



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Mar 03 2024 : Kabdanis: 3/10
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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. The first clue, found inscribed in tiny lettering on a lily pad, will read, "Fruit flies like a banana". It is signed by "Ferret Goth Kim" but, remind me, who is it that first came out with this quote?

Answer: Groucho Marx

In its original context, the expression reads, "Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana." The wordplay arises because the two sentences appear identical in their construction but are actually very different. "Flies" operates as both a verb and noun; "like" as an adverb and verb.

Other famous Groucho quotes include, "I never forget a face, but in your case I'll be glad to make an exception" and "I'm not a vegetarian, but I eat animals who are".

I. Anne Tentoo, Lee Ferreiva or Dieter Ryan? They, collectively, provide another memorable Groucho offering (If you can't see it, try repeating it to yourself slowly).
2. My leading character will be a Harvard professor of cymbalogy and wordplay specialist, Dr. Tim Pani, whom I shall pair with a pretty, young computer programmer, Sophie Chetsokleva. How can a banana fly? Sophie discovers the existence of a banana bird, the Jamaican Oriole, and flies to the Caribbean to investigate. Tim is asked where she has gone - Jamaica? What does Tim reply?

Answer: No! It was her choice

Most of the wordplays in this quiz are years old and this is no exception. It is based upon the fact that, when spoken in a certain way, "Jamaica" sounds like "Did you make her?" This relies, of course, on the "Did you" being corrupted to "D'yer" and is enshrined in the Led Zeppelin song, "D'yer Mak'er". There really is a Jamaican Oriole, alternatively known as the banana bird.
3. The investigation hots up. Tim and Sophie are called to the museum of old fruits in Wales. The curator, Dai Dretchett-Lee, has been murdered but, before he died, he cut himself into four pieces and left a message on each. What happens next?

Answer: Tim and Sophie are shown to his quarters

According to Dictionary.com, the word quarter has over forty different definitions in English. Here the meaning is that of a lodging or temporary accommodation. The etymology isn't precisely clear but is thought to derive from the four compass points rather than from a one-fourth part.

The word quarter then began to be attached to a part of a town, as in "Spanish quarter" or "Latin quarter", and subsequently to an individual's lodgings, particularly through military usage.
4. On the first body part is drawn a Grecian urn. This will give scope for our intrepid duo to wander round ancient sites in Greece. What's a Grecian urn? Which of the following will be their conclusion?

Answer: Currently, about 350 Euros per week

A Grecian urn is a Greek-made piece of pottery, an example of which provided the inspiration for Keats' "Ode to a Grecian Urn" which ends thus:
"When old age shall this generation waste,
Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe
Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say'st,
"Beauty is truth, truth beauty,"-that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know."

The ambiguity stems from the fact that "urn" and "earn" are homophones for each other. It also relies on "Grecian" being both an adjective and a noun. Thus, "What's a Grecian urn?" becomes "How much does a Grecian (a citizen of Greece) earn?"
5. Next comes a picture of a Venetian blind. Cue more old buildings and some high-speed chases around the canals of Venice. First, though, Sophie will ask, "How do you make a Venetian blind?" What is Tim's reply?

Answer: Poke both his eyes out

The Venetian blind is a window covering believed to have been introduced to France by slaves from Venice but whose first patent was lodged in London, England in 1769.

This is another wordplay that works because Venetian can be both an adjective describing things that originate from Venice or a noun signifying its inhabitants.
6. The third symbol is a drawing of a Hindu. The action will move to India after Sophie has asked, "What's a Hindu?" The answer?

Answer: Lay eggs and cluck

Another old and corny gag that matches "Hindu" with "hen do". It was used in the short-lived political satire, "That's My Bush", which aired briefly on Comedy Central during 2001.
7. On the final body part, has been carved the letters, UPDOG. What is Tim's response when Sophie dutifully asks the question, "What's UPDOG"?

Answer: Nothing much, how's it with you?

This is another wordplay that works best in spoken rather than written form.

An example of its use even made it into the TV series, "The Office", except that Michael Scott's excitement led to his omitting the punch line:
Michael: "Hey is it me? Or does this place smell like updog?"
Dwight: "What's updog?"
Michael: "Gotcha!
8. Nearly forgot. I want to include the Catholic Church at the heart of this mystery. What would be the most appropriate punny name for my disreputable Catholic suspect?

Answer: Cardinal Sin

Cardinal means "of utmost significance" but is also the title given to a high-ranking position within the Catholic Church. Ironically, there was a real-life Cardinal Sin who was a Cardinal in the Philippines from 1976 to 2005.
9. Tim and Sophie's next destination will be the Vatican after discovering that all the world's fruit flies are being drawn in that direction. They peer into the headquarters of the Swiss Guard. Tim says that he can see a Steinway. What does Tim reply when Sophie queries, "What's a Steinway?"?

Answer: About a pound or two

This is a variation on an old gag, often rendered as "What's a henway?" The obvious conclusion is that Tim has seen a musical instrument, as Steinway is a famous maker of pianos. However, a stein is a drinking tankard used in Germany, Switzerland and other countries. The question thus becomes, "How much does a stein weigh?"
10. In an inevitable climactic twist, it will turn out that the Catholic Church had nothing to do with anything. The real villain does not dress in scarlet or purple but is better known for being green. He has lured the flies to Italy for lunch. Who is responsible for the book's closing line - "Isn't time fun when you're having flies?"

Answer: Kermit the Frog

The lily pad pointed towards Kermit as did the signature, "Ferret Goth Kim", which is an anagram of his name. I couldn't let a Dan Brown parody go without at least one anagram!

The primary intention of this quiz was to have a bit of fun but several of the examples do illustrate a significant issue in the realm of artificial intelligence, known as Natural Language Understanding. To correctly comprehend a sentence such as "Fruit flies like a banana" requires an understanding of context and language. The goal of computer programmers, such as Sophie, is to develop these skills in a computer.
Source: Author glendathecat

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor CellarDoor before going online.
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This quiz is part of series Commission #7:

Authors wrote two quizzes for this seventh Quiz Commission-- one of their own titles and one of another person's-- back in February 2010. It's double or nothing!

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