The Daily Teaser …

You know, it always impresses me, how busy Friday’s Teasers can get, it really does!

We had five — FIVE — whole entries, yesterday, so I’m pleased about that!

I’m just wondering one thing.

B, ol’ bean, who are you?!?

You’ve got me rather curious! And I’m willing to bet everyone else is!

At any rate, let’s have the scores on the proverbial doors, shall we? Yes, let’s … !

Yesterday’s Teaser saw Trevor getting 5 out of 5, Andrea, Tim and Simon getting 4.5 out of 5, and B getting 2 out of 5.

Those half points all hinge on yesterday’s Q2: about the Cullinan Diamond?

The actual answer I was after was The First Star of Africa: also known as Cullinan 1, and currently the centrepiece of the Sceptre with the Cross. (Where everyone went slightly wrong was either not specifying that, or naming Cullinan 2, or the Lesser Star of Africa … Ah HEM! Trevor, bless him, hedged his bets and named both … )

Hmmm …

At any rate, I know giving both Jimmy Durante and Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven lead to our first actual quote from Trevor, bless him, Simon putting in a classic from The Schnozzola, himself, and Andrea digging up both Poe’s ‘A Dream’, and an interesting line from Durante himself: “Politics is developing more comedians than radio ever did.”.

Is it me, or did Jimmy have a point, there, Andrea? (I know Rory Bremner, one of the UK’s best impersonators and satirists, said on TV, yesterday, that David Cameron — the current Leader of the Opposition — does a better Tony Blair impersonation then he does. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions* … )

Anyway, let’s get cracking, shall we?

Yes, lets!

Here’s today’s questions, along with the ‘How To’ and License …

Q1) 30th January, 1649, saw the execution of which English king?

Q2) 299 years later, 30th January, 1948, saw the assassination — by a Hindu extremist — of which Indian leader?

Q3) 30th January, 1972, saw 13 people killed in a civil rights protest in Londonderry: how is this incident more notoriously known?

A3) Bloody Sunday.

Q4) 30th January, 1913, saw the House of Lords reject a bill on … what?

Q5) 123 year’s earlier, 30th January, 1790, saw the first official testing of a lifeboat: on which English river?

Q6) 57 years after that, the Californian town of Yerba Buena renamed … what?

Q7) And finally … today in 1969 saw the last public performance by which band … ?

And here’s yesterday’s questions and answers …

Q1) 29^th January, 1845, saw the first publication of which Edgar Allen Poe poem?

A1) The Raven.

Q2) Nine years earlier, 29^th January, 1834 saw US President Andrew Jackson order the first use of Federal troops in a … what?

A2) Labour dispute.

Q3) 29^th January, 1905, saw the discovery of the Cullinan Diamond, which weighed in at 1 1/3^rd pounds, and 3, 106 carats. What are either of the two names given to the largest of the diamonds cut from this stone?

A3) The Star of Africa 1, or Cullinan 1. (It’s currently the centrepiece of the Royal Sceptre of the UK’s Crown Jewels, and was, until 1985, the largest cut diamond in the world: it can also be demounted and worn as a brooch.)

Q4) 29^th January, 1980, saw the death of American comedian and actor, Jimmy Durante: what facial feature did his nicknames refer to?

A4) His large nose: he was known as the Schnozzle or Schnozzola on account of it.

Q5) And finally, today in 1996, saw which European country finally cease nuclear testing?

A5) France.

Enjoy those, everyone. I’ll catch you later!

* And make sense of my grammar yourself. Because I’m blowed if I can … !