Submitted by Giles Berithos on May 29, 2011 – 2:39pm
With many thanks to Ms. Star MacBain for hosting and keeping score, the Steampunk Trivia contest went off swimmingly. The victor was Lord Victor (hee hee, get it?) Mornington, but it was a close contest, requiring a tiebreaker question. In second place was Ms. Tesla Tripsa. The event shall be repeated again in June, details to be announced. Below are the questions from our initial contest and the correct answers.
1. Who wrote 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea? Jules Verne
2. Who is New Babbage named in honor of? Charles Babbage
3. What nationality was Thomas Edison? American
4. Which element is the chief component of coal? Carbon
5. What type of garment was once advertised as having “a complete absence of pressure upon the respiratory organs?” Corset
6. What is the subtitle of Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein? The Modern Prometheus
7. What Babbage monster frequents both the sea and air? Kraken
8. Who is widely credited with coining the term “steampunk?” K. W. Jeter
9. What is the name of Sherlock Holmes’ brother? Mycroft
10. During what event was the phrase, “Oh, the humanity!” first uttered? The Hindenburg disaster
11. Brass is primarily an alloy of what two elements? Copper and zinc
12. In what city did the first manned hot air balloon flight take place? Paris
13. What was the chief invention of Sir Charles Wheatstone? Wheatstone bridge.
14. In which country (the modern name) was Nikola Tesla born? Croatia, formerly part of the Austrian Empire
15. Of the following, who is not an original founder of New Babbage: Jefferson Gould, Aeolus Cleanslate, Salazer Jack, Loki Eliot, Edward Pearse? Aeolus Cleanslate
16. What was the name of the mechanical owl from the 1981 film Clash of the Titans? Bubo
17. What is the modern name for the disease known as consumption? Tuberculosis
18. Who was the mythical man who beat a steam powered hammer in a race? John Henry
19. What animal produces ambergris? Sperm whale
20. For whom were the “bobbies” of the Metropolitan police named? Home Secretary Sir Robert Peel
21. What common material for constructing smoking pipes is usually called by its German name? Meerschaum
22. What is the name of the main character in the Girl Genius comic? Agatha Heterodyne/Clay
23. The poem, The Charge of the Light Brigade, concerns a battle during which war? The Crimean
24. What was Lord Kelvin’s name before his ennoblement? William Thomson
25. In whose honor are Leyden jars named? Trick question, named for University of Leiden (or Leyden), Netherlands
BONUS QUESTION: According to Mr. Tenk, why is he so damned short? Bone fever as a child
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