Nik Nak’s Daily Teaser — 5-2-2026 — Robert Peel

5th February, 2026: Sir Robert Peel.

Right … I’ve officially published a couple of videos.

The one about leaving X … isn’t doing well.

But then, I wouldn’t expect it to.

That said … ?

My review of Ralph Bakshi’s version of The Lord of the Rings has done better in the same time-span.

That’s pleasantly surprising: given I no longer having access to X/Twitter means I can’t promote it, there.

We’ll have to see how it goes.

~≈❌≈~

One point in that review … ?

Was it’s version of Gollum.

Which struck me as … well, as problematic.

I can’t help but think it sounded like a caricatured version of Shylock, or Fagin.

Mildly anti-semitic, in other words.

I’m just grateful it’s not something Andy Serkis repeated … 

~≈💍≈~

I’ve had Kate Bush’s “Wuthering Heights” earworming its way through my head, this morning.

So … ?

Have had a version from Spotify, playing: in an effort to get rid of it.

One that’s been repeatedly interrupted by adverts from a firm of solicitors called Irwin and Mitchell: offering to help get you compensation, if you’ve had an accident at work.

The thing’s featured an actor: playing a character who’s lost his leg in an accident at work … but who’s then told us he was “… in the military”.

Without actually telling us he’s had his leg blown off in combat.

Which I’m assuming is the inference we’re supposed to be drawing, here.

But?

If you’ve joined the Army, I’d imagine you’ve joined knowing that you could be killed or injured in combat, killed or injured on active service and killed or injured as a result of deliberate enemy action.

I have to ask, does getting your leg blown off as a result of stepping on a landmine count as an industrial accident?

Especially if the risk of coming back in a box is part of the job … 

~≈🔫≈~

Let’s move on.


Yesterday’s Teaser saw Mum*, Olga† and Debbi‡ putting in their answers: with Debbi scoring ten out of ten, Olga on nine, and Mum on seven.


 Let’s see how everyone does with today’s questions, shall we?

Here they are, along with the How To, License and video.

Q1)        Sir Robert Peel was born on 5th February.   Of which year of the 1780s?

Q2)        He was born in which English county: Lancashire or Yorkshire?

Q3)        What was the highest political office Peel held: Prime Minister, Home Secretary or Chancellor of the Exchequer?

Q4)        He first entered the House of Commons in which year: 1807, 1809 or 1811?

Q5)        Finally … ?   Whilst Home Secretary, he introduced the act that introduced what: the National Health Service, the Commonwealth or the Metropolitan Police?

Here’s yesterday’s questions and answers … 

Q1)        Brave New World was first published on 4th February.   Of which year of the 1930s?

A1)        1932.

Q2)        It was published by which company: Atlantic Books, Bloomsbury or Chatto and Windus?

A2)        Chatto and Windus.   (The company is now owned by Penguin Random House)

Q3)        Who wrote Brave New World: Aldous Huxley, Thomas Huxley or George Orwell?

A3)        Aldous Huxley.

Q4)        The book’s setting — the World State — was a what: a dystopia or a utopia?

A4)        A dystopia.

Q5)        What’s the opposite of that type of setting: a utopia or a dystopia?

A5)        A utopia.

Q6)        The people of the World State all revere whom: Thomas Edison, Henry Ford or Samuel Morse?

A6)        Henry Ford.

Q7)        One of the main characters is Bernard who: Marx, Stalin or Goebbels?

A7)        Bernard Marx.

Q8)        Bernard is a member of one of the World State’s five broad whats: guilds, unions or castes?

A8)        Castes.

Q9)        The characters in Brave New World all take a drug called what: soma, spice or slo-mo?

A9)        Soma.

Q10)        Finally … ?   Brave New World takes its name from a play by William Shakespeare.   Which play: Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest or Twelfth Night?

A10)        The Tempest.

Here’s a thought …

“I think there is a gentlemanlike policy which nations as well as individuals would do well to adopt.”

Sir Robert Peel.

And a video …

The next ten question set is on tomorrow: it’s about New Zealand.

Your comments, and today’s answers, will be published in tomorrow’s Teaser.

AI is avoided when writing these questions.

Answers are as accurate as possible: at the time of writing.

Decisions about scores are final.

Thank you for coming: have a good day.

*        Hello, Mum.   Thanks for mentioning question five, yesterday: I missed copying it!

        (It was 1932, Henry Ford and The Tempest, Mum, rather than 1931, Samuel Morse and Twelfth Night.)

†        There’s been a couple of TV versions of Brave New Worlds, Olga: one of them had Leonard Nimoy and Miguel Ferrer, the earlier one starred Keir Dullea.   From what I recall, neither were especially close to the original text.

        Oh, Brave New World was released in 1932.   I’ve given you a point for Q5, though: I left it out by mistake, and didn’t get a chance to let you know!

        I know what you mean about X.   But I still think the basic service is a good one: that’s why X-like services — Bluesky, Mastodon, Threads, et al — have cropped up.   X is good … but it’s got issues, a lot of which are caused by the owner: if the customer services robot had been human, I’d probably still be there … !

        (I preferred Banks’ SF stuff, to be honest: The Wasp Factory was a bit way out … !   Oh, and one of his space ships is called the OU/e Mistake Not My Current State Of Joshing Gentle Peevishness For The Awesome And Terrible Majesty Of The Towering Seas Of Ire That Are Themselves The Mere Milquetoast Shallows Fringing My Vast Oceans Of Wrath.   It doesn’t get mentioned much …)

‡        It sounds like you’ve got a hit, there, Debbi!