November nuances
The month of November has two birthstones – topaz and citrine. Both gemstones are known for their calming energies, bringing warmth and good fortune to those who wear them.
Through much of history, all yellow gems were considered to be topaz, and all topaz was thought to be yellow, but the stone actually appears in many colors. Precious topaz ranges in color from brownish orange to yellow. The name “topaz” is derived from Topazios, the ancient Greek name for St. John’s Island in the Red Sea. Topaz is a soothing stone that has been said to calm tempers, cure madness and eliminate nightmares.
Citrine is a variety of quartz that ranges in color from pale yellow to brownish orange. It takes its name from the citron fruit because of the lemon-inspired shades. Citrine is sometimes known as the “healing quartz” for its ability to comfort, soothe and calm. It can release negative feelings, spark imagination and manifest fresh beginnings. It is also called the “merchant’s stone” due to its tendency to attract wealth and prosperity.
Based on the above information, the themes of this month’s quiz are “topaz,” “brown” and “citrus fruits.” Thus all the questions and/ or answers relate to various aspects of those topics. 1. Who wrote the 1967 spy novel Topaz? (a) John le Carre (b) Robert Ludlum (c) Leon Uris (d) Graham Greene 2. Who directed the 1969 film Topaz based on the novel? 3. What British poet/playwright wrote the line “God’s in His heaven – all’s right with the world” in his 1841 verse drama Pippa Passes? 4. Charlie Brown is a character in what long-running comic strip? 5. Jaffa oranges are so called because they were first exported from Jaffa. What citrus fruit derives its actual name from the city it came from? 6. True or false: Brown eggs come from brown chickens. 7. What pop singer has an album titled Lemonade? (a) Beyonce (b) Taylor Swift (c) Rihanna (d) Jennifer Lopez 8. The Bobbi Brown company produces what kinds of products? (a) shoes (b) cosmetics (c) toys (d) ski equipment 9. Who starred in Stanley Kubrick’s 1971 film A Clockwork Orange? (a) Roddy McDowall (b) Ian McShane (c) Ewan McGregor (d) Malcolm McDowell 10. What singer was known as “The Godfather of Soul”? 11. The Brownie camera was introduced by what company in 1900? (a) Canon (b) Kodak (c) Polaroid (d) Nikon 12. Who played the title role on the TV sitcom Murphy Brown? 13. What is the more familiar name of the fruit called Citrus medica? 14. Girls aged seven to 10 in the Girl Guides organization are called what? 15. Indian River grapefruit comes from which US state? 16. What sport do the Cleveland Browns play? (a) baseball (b) football (c) hockey (d) basketball 17. Liz Lemon was a character on what TV sitcom? (a) Three’s a Crowd (b) Third Rock from the Sun (c) 30 Rock (d) Three’s Company 18. What British group had a hit with the 1965 song “Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter”? 19. According to the lyrics of the 1939 song, where do “troubles melt like lemon drops”? 20. Who starred as schoolmaster Andrew Crocker-Harris in the 1951 film The Browning Version? Who played the role in the 1994 version of the film? 21. “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” is an example of an English-language pangram. What is a pangram? 22. The Kingston Trio recorded the song “Lemon Tree” in 1961. What trio recorded it in 1962? 23. Who wrote the 2003 novel The Da Vinci Code? 24. C6H8O7 is the chemical formula of what substance? 25. According to Jim Croce’s 1973 song, who was “the baddest man in the whole damn town”?