The Daily Teaser — 14-11-2012

Hmmm … 

It’s Wednesday, isn’t it … ?   Yes, it IS: he say’s, quickly double-checking.

Which actually means things could get interesting, if you’re anywhere near a radio.

Today IS, after all, BBC Radio’s 90th birthday.

They’re having a bit of a thing at 17·32 GMT: on EVERY station.   (Including the World Service, as far as I can tell.)

I just wish I’d known earlier: despite the scandals it’s recently had, it IS a national treasure.

Let’s move on, shall we … ?   That way I can show you the themed teaser I HAVE done … !

~~~~~

Yesterday’s saw Debbi* putting in her answers: along with admitting she was no fan of the US’s history with slaveryº, ALSO managing to bag 5 out of 6.

Let’s see how she — and you — do with today’s Nilotic questions, shall we?   Here they are, along with the ‘How To’, License and video … 

Q1) 14th November, 1770, saw James Bruce discover what he thought was the source of the Nile.   In which country did he find it … ?

Q2) More to the point, which tributary of the Nile had Bruce actually found the source of … ?

Q3) Equally to the point: in which Lake is the source of that river … ?

Q4) The Blue Nile joins the main Nile River at which Egyptian town: Thebes, Cairo or Khartoum … ?

Q5) And finally … The Nile Delta drains the Nile River … into which sea … ?

And here’s yesterday’s questions and answers …

Q1) 13th November, 1994, saw the people of Sweden vote to join the EU: what currency is used in 17 EU nations … ?

A1) The Euro.

Q2) More to the point, name any of the three non-EU countries that officially use the Euro … 

A2) Monaco, San Marino and Vatican City.   (In other words, they’re non-EU members who’ve formal treaties with the EU about the currency: Kosovo and Montenegro use the Euro, unofficially, and Andorra can only — officially — use it, from July of 2013.)

Q3) 13th November, 1947, saw the Soviet Union complete development of which extremely well known weapon … ?

A3) The AK47: or Avtomat Kalashnikova (Автомат Калашникова) 47.   (The gun is up there with the Colt .45 and the Gatling Gun as one of the most iconic weapons ever made.   And possibly Soviet Russia’s biggest ever export.)

Q4) 13th November, 1969, saw Irene Hanson give birth to live … what … ?

A4) Quintuplets.   (Apparently, all five sisters survived.   What’s more … their parents must be one HELL of a tough couple … !)

Q5) 13th November, 1910, saw the birth of Patrick Reid, a former British army officer.   Where — in 1942 — did he escape from … ?

A5) Oflag IV-C: otherwise known as Colditz.

Q6) And finally … 13th November, 1969, saw Vietnam War protestors hold a March Against Death.   In which US city … ?

A6) Washington DC.

Enjoy those, everyone.

I’ll leave you with this quote from Shakespeare’s Anthony and Cleopatra …

“The higher Nilus swells,
The more it promises; as it ebbs, the seedsman
Upon the slime and ooze scatters his grain,
And shortly comes the harvest.”

William Shakespeare’s Anthony and Cleopatra, Act II, Scene 7, Line 23

And with this tune from the nuttiest band in town … 

Oh … 

And a traditional Ancient Egyptian fertility dance: performed by Wilson, Keppel and Betty … 

*        Actually, Debbi … ?   It was the AK-47: possibly the most wildly used gun in human history … !   Oh … And check out Answer Two … !

º        All that, Debbi, and Jefferson practically invented the US wine industry.   One has to wonder at the contradiction.   (He sounds much like Sir Francis Drake: who’s both one of the UK’s revered Naval heroes, after his part in the defeat of the Spanish Armada.   And yet who made his money — and got his shipping experience — as one of the UK’s most prosperous privateers … and slave traders.)