You realise it’s the 23rd of April … ?
You’d worked that out, hadn’t you: you’re As capable of checking a calendar as I am.
Which means you’ve possibly worked out two things.
1) It’s Saint Georges Day. Have a good one, if you’re celebrating it. Try and avoid the dragons, I’d prefer a live audience that’s not been eaten by green scaly mythological creatures.
And 2) It’s ALSO World Book Night: marking the birth and death of William Shakespeare, the death of Miguel Cervantes, and an old regional Spanish tradition that sees lovers give each other a book. (Usually of love poems.)
Either way … ? Have fun, today: if you see me, I might just give you something to read …
As I’m one of the volunteer givers for this year.
Let’s move on …
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Yesterday’s saw Debbi and Adrence putting in their answers. With Debbi mentioning Big Bang Theory*, it also saw Adrence bagging nought out of seven, and Debbi bagging seven.
Let’s see how they — and you — do with today’s World Book Night questions, shall we … ?
Q1) 23rd April is World Book Night: in which year of the 1990s was it first celebrated … ?
Q2) In part, World Book Night marks the death of William Shakespeare, on Saint Georges Day: in which year of the 17th Century … ?
Q3) Equally to the point, that day also saw the death of Miguel de Cervantes. Which of his works is considered by many to be the world’s first novel … ?
Q4) There are twenty World Book Night Books being handed out in the UK, this year: name any one of them … ?
Q5) In which Spanish region are books traditionally given to one’s sweetheart on Saint Georges Day … ?
Q6) Excluding things like The Bible, The Qu’ran and The Communist Manifesto, what 1859 book is supposed to be the biggest selling in the English language … ?
Q7) And finally … what name is given to the original official publication of Shakespeare’s plays … ?
And here’s yesterday’s questions and answers …
Q1) 22nd April, 1915, saw which gas used as a chemical weapon, for the first time … ?A1) Chlorine.
Q2) During the second battle of where … ?A2) Ypres.
Q3) 22nd April, 1993, saw the release of the world’s first successful web browser: what was it called … ?A3) Mosaic.
Q4) 22nd April, 1977, saw the first use of optical fibre, to carry live what: tv shows, phone conversations or computer data … ?A4) Phone conversations.
Q5) 22nd April, 1971, saw the death of Dr Francois Duvalier: president — and dictator — of where … ?A5) Haiti.
Q6) More to the point, what was his nickname … ?A6) ‘Papa Doc’.
Q7) And finally … 22nd April, 1912, saw the first publication of Pravda: what’s the meaning of the word, Pravda, in English … ?A7) Truth.
Enjoy those: I’ll leave you with this rather relevant Elvis number …
And with this thought from Umberto Eco …
“Books are not made to be believed, but to be subjected to inquiry.”Umberto Eco.
Have a good day … !
* I’ve got to admit, Debbi, I’ve never actually seen it: I’ve got Freeview, as it’s free … ! Which means I can never work out something my friends are raving about is on … !
