Mind your Zs and Qs
December is resplendent with three birthstones – zircon, tanzanite and turquoise, each of which features a distinctive shade of blue. Zircon is the oldest mineral on Earth, dating back more than 4.4 billion years. Zircon is a natural gem that has a variety of colors. Since the Middle Ages, people have believed it can induce sleep, ward off evil and promote prosperity and wisdom.
Turquoise has been admired since ancient times. It adorned everything from jewelry and ceremonial masks to weapons and bridles. In ancient Persia, it covered palace domes because its sky blue color represented heaven. The gem was believed to bestow power and protection.
Tanzanite crystals were discovered in Tanzania in 1967 by Maasai herders. The crystal was identified as a vibrant blue variety of zoisite, a mineral that has existed since the 1800s. Tiffany & Co., which became the gem’s main distributor in 1968, named it “tanzanite” to highlight its geographic origin.
Given the names of the three gemstones, the theme of this quiz are the letters Z and Q. Hence, all the questions and/or answers revolve around one or both of those letters.
1. In 1974, what city replaced Dar es Salaam as the capital of Tanzania?
2. Who created the character Tarzan in the 1912 novel Tarzan of the Apes?
3. Which of the following actors did NOT portray Tarzan in film? (a) Johnny Weissmuller (b) Douglas Fairbanks (c) Jock Mahoney (d) Christopher Lambert 4. What is the capital city of Zimbabwe? 5. Who wrote the novel Don Quixote? 6. What French author wrote the open letter “J’accuse” in 1898 in regard to the Dreyfus case?
7. What is defined as “An active galactic nucleus of very high luminosity; it consists of a supermassive black hole surrounded by an orbiting accretion disk of gas”? (a) a quasar (b) a quark (c) a quantum (d) a quadrille
8. Who played the title role in the 1964 film Zorba the Greek?
9. Who composed the music for the 1969 film Z, directed by Costa-Gavras?
10. Who has been the music director of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra since 1977?
11. Who portrayed Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in the 2010 film The Social Network? (a) Zac Efron (b) Jesse Eisenberg (c) Zach Galifianakis (d) Seth Rogen
12. Derived from the name of Norwegian WW II military leader Vidkun Quisling, what kind of person is a “quisling”? (a) coward (b) tyrant (c) traitor (d) reformer
13. Who was the object of the international manhunt in the 2012 film Zero Dark Thirty? 14. What celebrity was quoted as saying “I am a marvelous housekeeper: Every time I leave a man, I keep his house”?
15. Who starred as Max Bialystock in Mel Brooks’s 1967 film The Producers?
16. Of the 11 languages spoken in South Africa, which is the most commonly spoken as a first language (23%)? (Hint: It is not English, which is the fourth, at 9.6%)
17. What group had a hit with the song “Bohemian Rhapsody”? (a) Led Zeppelin (b) Quiet Company (c) The Zombies (d) Queen
18. Who wrote Franny and Zooey, which comprises the short story “Franny” and the novella Zooey? (a) G.K. Chesterton (b) A.A. Milne (c) J.D. Salinger (d) E. M. Forster
19. What is the meaning of the expression “to catch some Z’s”? (a) Sit in the sun (b) Take a nap (c) Go surfing (d) Watch movies
20. What role did Desmond Llewelyn play in most of the James Bond films?
21. Who was the lead singer of the US rock band The Mothers of Invention?
22. Who played Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata in Elia Kazan’s 1952 film Viva Zapata? (a) Fernando Lamas (b) Charles Bronson (c) Marlon Brando (d) Burt Lancaster
23. In what country is the city of Zaragosa located? (a) Greece (b) Spain (c) Portugal (d) Brazil
24. What actress co-starred with Antonio Banderas in the 1998 film The Mask of Zorro? (a) Penelope Cruz (b) Zoe Saldana (c) Cameron Diaz (d) Catherine Zeta-Jones
25. What American TV detective series (195864) starred Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Roger Smith and Edd Byrnes?