The Daily Teaser — 26-4-2013: Chernobyl

That’s a pain … !

I have to say, I was doing a — still unfinished — write-up on a film I’d watched, on Wednesday night.

And got interrupted.

By some twerp to hacked into my main, private, email address — at BT*’s end — and start sending out spam.

I’ve managed to sort that out by resetting my password, the bog-standard way of regaining control of one’s email.  

But lordy, it’s a pain … !

Let’s move on … 

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Yesterday’s Teaser saw Debbi† putting in her answers: along with letting us know she’d be posting about  a video I’d passed on to her, also bagging five out of five.

Let’s see how she — and you — do with today’s questions, shall we … ?

Here they are, along with the ‘How To’, license and video … 

Q1) 26th April saw what was then the world’s worst nuclear accident: at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station, in the (then) USSR.   The plant is in what’s now which country … ?

Q2) In which year of the 1980s … ?

Q3) More to the point, what’s the name of the nearby town that housed most of the plant’s workers … ?

Q4) The plant, itself was — in the Soviet era — named for which Russian revolutionary … ?

Q5) Part of what went wrong at the plant, were some of the moderating control rods used in the reactors.   What type of carbon were these rods made of … ?

Q6) What kind of fuel was used in that plant: plutonium dioxide, neptunium dioxide or uranium dioxide … ?

Q7) Chernobyl was the world’s nuclear accident: until a plant in which country exploded … ?

Q8) Finally … what was the name of the 2012 horror film, set in and around the Chernobyl plant … ?

And here’s yesterday’s questions and answers …

Q1) 25th April saw Francis Crick and James D. Watson publish their article, describing the shape of the DNA molecule.   What does DNA stand for … ?

A1) Deoxyribonucleic acid.

Q2) What shape IS DNA … ?

A2) A double helix: roughly that of a double spiral.

Q3) That shape was revealed to Crick and Watson by the image called Photo 51.   What was the name of the woman who took that photo … ?

A3) Rosalind Franklin.

Q4) The D in DNA is a what: sugar, salt or phosphate … ?

A4) Sugar.

Q5) And finally … how many chromosomal pairs do humans have: 22, 23 or 24 … ?

A5) 23.

I’ll leave you with this thought from Mikhail Gorbachev …

“We were just not prepared for that sort of situation.”

Mikhail Gorbachev.

And with Ghost Town, by Huns and Beeker … 

Enjoy the day … 

*        BT basically buy in email server space from Yahoo: slowly getting a reputation for not keeping out baddies … 

†        I’ll look forward to it, Debbi.   (By the way, I’m just hoping you DIDN’T get one of the spam emails … ?   The contents will be along the lines of “From me32”, along with a link.   Which I’d SERIOUSLY suggest not clicking … !)

The Daily Teaser — 25-4-2013: DNA/DOA

Hmmm … 

I think we can say that today is — officially — Thursday.

Unless my calendar’s seriously out of sync.

At any rate, I’m happy to admit I’m onto something like my third or fourth themed Teaser in a row.

Which isn’t bad going, now I think about it.

I have to admit, I think I’m impressed with myself … 

Let’s move on, shall we … ?   That way, you can see today’s … 

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Yesterday’s Teaser saw Debbi* putting in her answers: along with posting up more from her law journal, it also saw her bagging six out of six.

Let’s see how she — and you — do with today’s questions, shall we … ?

Here they are, along with the ‘How To’, License and video … 

Q1) 25th April saw Francis Crick and James D. Watson publish their article, describing the shape of the DNA molecule.   What does DNA stand for … ?

Q2) What shape IS DNA … ?

Q3) That shape was revealed to Crick and Watson by the image called Photo 51.   What was the name of the woman who took that photo … ?

Q4) The D in DNA is a what: sugar, salt or phosphate … ?

Q5) And finally … how many chromosomal pairs do humans have: 22, 23 or 24 … ?

Here’s yesterday’s questions and answers …

Q1) 24th April, 1184 BC, is traditional date for the Fall Of Troy,  at the end of the war between the Trojans: and whom … ?

A1) The Achæans, or ancient Greeks.

Q2) More to the point, the war ended when the Trojan’s enemies — famously — gave them a wooden … what … ?

A2) Horse.   (If you’ve ever heard of a piece of malicious software called a Trojan, designed to fool you into installing it onto your computer by pretending to be something it’s not, this is where it gets the name.)

Q3) Which blind poet famously wrote about the Trojan War … ?

A3) Homer.

Q4) The war was started when who eloped with Prince Paris of Troy … ?

A4) Queen Helen of Troy/Sparta.

Q5) The remains of the city are in what’s now which country … ?

A5) Turkey.

Q6) And finally … who was the German businessman and amateur archeologist who excavated Troy … ?

A6) Heinrich Schliemann.

I’ll leave you with thought from James Watson …

“When finally interpreted, the genetic messages encoded within our DNA molecules will provide the ultimate answers to the chemical underpinnings of human existence.”

James D. Watson

And with an appropriately named tune.

*        My pleasure, Debbi … !   I don’t know how easy you’ll find it, but you do know they’re probably wanting volunteer givers for next year … ?   Oh, and bless him, Adrence flagged this video up for us: big round of applause for Our Man Out East … ! :D

The Brentwood Gazette’s Weekly Teaser — 24-4-2013: Falling Troy

Blimey … 

I have to admit, it’s not that often I repeat a question.

Except I just might have, today … !

Just shows you want happens when you take your eye off the ball for ten minutes … !

At ANY rate … ?

At any rate, here’s today’s Brentwood Gazette Teaser … 

Q1) 24th April, 1184BC, is the traditional date of the fall of Troy: after a war between the Trojans, and whom … ?

Q2) More to the point, Troy fell after a siege of how many years: ten, fifteen or twenty … ?

Q3) Troy’s enemies fooled the Trojans, and entered the city, hidden in a wooden what … ?

Q4) What was the name of the famous Greek poem about the Trojan War … ?

Q5) Who exactly wrote that poem … ?

Q6) That poet wrote a follow-up: about whose adventures on his way home from the Trojan War … ?

Q7) That Greek hero was also known as Ulysses: Ulysses was also the name of a novel by which Irish author … ?

Q8) The Trojan War was started when Prince, Paris of Troy, eloped with which Greek queen … ?

Q9) What’s the name of William Shakespeare’s play about the Trojan War … ?

Q10) And finally … who played Achilles in the 2004 film, ‘Troy’ … ?

And here’s last week’s questions and answers …

Questions.

Q1) 17th April, 1897, saw a UFO spotted over the small US town of Aurora: in which US state is Aurora … ?

Q2) According to reports, what was the UFO shaped like: a saucer, a cigar or a triangle …?

Q3) In which newspaper was the incident first reported: the Dallas Morning News, the El Paso Times or the Galveston Daily News … ?

Q4) Back on to our subject: what does UFO stand for … ?

Q5) The earliest known British UFO sighting was near which Essex town:  Witham, Basildon or Rochford … ?

Q6) In which year of this century did the Ministry of Defence close its UFO investigation department … ?

Q7) The US Army Air Force apparently captured a UFO, and its pilot, in Roswell, New Mexico.   In which year of the 1940s was this … ?

Q8) Which former US President saw a UFO, in 1969 … ?

Q9) What’s the name of the Gerry Anderson series, about an organization called SHADO, bravely fighting UFOs … ?

Q10) And finally … which US series follows two FBI agents, chasing UFOS, aliens and strange cases … ?

Answers.

A1) Texas.

A2) A cigar.

A3) The Dallas Morning News.

A4) Unidentified Flying Object.

A5) Rochford.

A6) 2009.

A7) 1947.

A8) Jimmy Carter.

A9) ‘UFO’.

A10) ‘The X-Files’.

Enjoy those … !

The Daily Teaser — 24-4-2013: The Fall Of Troy

Blimey … 

That seemed to go well … !

Did I tell you I’ve been a World Book Night giver … ?   For the second year in a row … ?

I’ve been a World Book Night giver: and 2013 was the second time in a row.

The title I was handing out … ?   Was the John Wagner overseen The Dark Judges.   And I have to admit, it pleasantly surprised me, the amount of people that went for it.

Including the one young women who — with an incredibly cheeky grin on her face — said, “Well it’s not what I call a graphic novel … !”

Let’s get moving on, shall we … ?

While that line goes down … 

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Yesterday’s Teaser saw Debbi putting in her answers: along with letting us know she’s formally started work on her screen-play*, she also bagged seven out of seven.

Let’s see how she — and you — do with today’s themed questions, shall we?

Here they are, along with the ‘How To’, License and video … 

Q1) 24th April, 1184 BC, is traditional date for the Fall Of Troy,  at the end of the war between the Trojans: and whom … ?

Q2) More to the point, the war ended when the Trojan’s enemies — famously — gave them a wooden … what … ?

Q3) Which blind poet famously wrote about the Trojan War … ?

Q4) The war was started when who eloped with Prince Paris of Troy … ?

Q5) The remains of the city are in what’s now which country … ?

Q6) And finally … who was the German businessman and amateur archeologist who excavated Troy … ?

And here’s yesterday’s questions and answers …

Q1) 23rd April is World Book Night: in which year of the 1990s was it first celebrated … ?   

A1) 1995.

Q2) In part, World Book Night marks the death of William Shakespeare, on Saint Georges Day: in which year of the 17th Century … ?   

A2) 1616.

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 … ?   

A3) Don Quixote.   (Which — handily — is one of the few books you can sing about: in a conveniently melodic 1980s fashion.)

Q4) There are twenty World Book Night Books being handed out in the UK, this year: name any one of them … ?   A4) The Secret Scripture, by Sebastian Barry, Noughts And Crosses, by Malorie Blackman, Girl With A Pearl Earring by Tracey Chevalier, The Eyre Affair, Jasper Fforde , Casino Royale, Ian Fleming, The White Queen by Phillipa Gregory, A Little History of The World, E. H. Gombrich, Little Face by Sophie Hannah, Damage by Josephine Hart, The Island by Victoria Hislop, Jackie Kay’s Red Road Dust, Last Night, Another Soldier by Andy McNab, Me Before You by Jojo Moyes, The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness, Bernaerd Schlink’sThe Reader, № 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith, the classic Treasure Island, by R. L. Stevenson, The Road Home by Rose Tremaine, Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal, by Jeanette Winterson, and finally — and my choice of handout — Judge Dredd: The Dark Judges, by John Wagner.

Q5) In which Spanish region are books traditionally given to one’s sweetheart on Saint Georges Day … ?   

A5) Catalonia.

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 … ?   

A6) A Tale Of Two Cities.

Q7) And finally … what name is given to the original official publication of Shakespeare’s plays … ?   

A7) The First Folio.

Enjoy those: I’ll leave you with Troy, by Sinead O’Connor … 

And with this thought from a certain well known, blind, Ancient Greek poet …

“Victory passes back and forth between men.”

Homer

Have a good day …

*        Good luck with that … !   :D   (And, yes: I thoroughly enjoyed WBN: you do know there’s a US end … ?   Just a thought … )

The Daily Teaser — 23-4-2013: World Book Night

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 … ?

Here they are, along with the ‘How To’, License and video … 

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 … !