Flag redesign contest a flop

In 2005, Mozambique held a design contest to deal with a problem it had with its flag. Adopted by the Marxists who brought the country to independence in the 1970s, the flag included an AK- 47 assault rifle, crossed with an agricultural implement, in reference to the Soviet hammer and sickle. The contest, however, went nowhere, and the African country remains the only one in the world with a modern weapon on its flag. TRIVIA QUESTION>> What name is shared, not by a soap opera, but by both a DC team- up comic featuring Batman and by a “Star Trek” novel that includes characters from all five of the TV series?

A) “The Brave and the Bold” B) “Guiding Light” C) “One Life to Life” D) “Search for Tomorrow”

Oddly enough, Key West got its name, not from its location, but from the Spanish term for “Island of Bones.” Apparently, it became a burial ground after a vicious battle among Indians that took place there. That being said, it does happen to be the westernmost of the Florida Keys. So that helps. Matthew Perry ( the naval hero, not the sitcom star) briefly re- named it Thompson’s Island, for the Secretary of the Navy, Smith Thompson. It has also been nicknamed the Gibraltar of the West, for its strategic position. Some celebrities change names because they have odd birth names. Others change name because their birth name is already in use. David Jones became David Bowie to avoid confusion with one of The Monkees. Stewart Granger was born Jimmy Stewart. Michael Keaton was born Michael Douglas. And Albert Brooks, oddly enough, is really Albert Einstein. Ray Charles, meanwhile, was really Ray Robinson: Charles was his middle name.

In the U. S., political machines often seized control of cities and held on for decades, typically with the help of powerful immigrant blocks, often Irish or Italian. The most famous examples are the Daley machine in Chicago and Boss Tweed’s massive operation in New York City. But you also have the Old Regulars, who ran New Orleans for six decades, even tangling with Huey Long, as well as Philadelphia’s Gas Ring, which took over the gas works for the city’s benefit but never quite managed to hand it over.

One of the Commodores biggest hits was “Brick House” from 1977. The title actually comes from a slang reference to being built like a brick ... let’s say outhouse. Although Lionel Richie is the most famous Commodore, he did not sing on that track. He did, however, sing on the peculiar remake, which he recorded for the soundtrack of his horror movie “House of 1,000 Corpses.”

The Miss World pageant was originally sponsored by Catalina, a swimwear company. In fact, the Miss World pageant was originally the Festival Bikini Contest. But then Miss America, Yolande Betbeze, refused to pose in a Catalina swimsuit. So Catalina organized Miss USA and Miss Universe. More recently, Donald Trump has taken over the Miss Universe pageant, which has attracted a lot of bad publicity for various reasons. TRIVIA ANSWER>> “The Brave and the Bold” is an important title for both trekkies and comic book geeks.