Tuesday Trivia

1. How many US States have names that contain only one syllable?
2. How many of Shakespeare's heroines disguise themselves as males?
3. Which Polish novelist contemporary to Melville is quoted as saying, “Melville knows nothing of the sea” in response to the 1851 classic novel, Moby Dick?
4. Which Robert Louis Stevenson work originated from a game he played with his stepson?
5. What is the longest word in the English language that does not contain a vowel (a,e,i,o,u)?

Last Week's Answers

Which author’s genius work ignited a scientific revolution, but failed financially — going out of print for many years after its initial publishing in 1543?

Copernicus' revolutionary book. De revolutionbus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres) arguing that heavenly bodies move around the sun ignited a scientific revolution, but it was a financial flop. Published, finally, in 1543, it was overpriced and allowed to go out of print. A second edition was not printed until 1566, the third, not until 1617.

What was Shakespeare’s average annual income?

Shakespeare brought in less than £20 per year, which would work out to about £8 per play. Despite this, Shakespeare still made about twice as Ben Jonson.

In 1838, which author wrote a story about shipwreck survivors in an open boat who turn to cannibalism to survive, only to have it come true in 1884?

Edgar Allan Poe wrote a short story in 1838, "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket", in which three shipwreck survivors in an open boat kill and eat the fourth, a man named Richard Parker. In 1884, three shipwreck survivors in an open boat killed and ate the fourth, whose name was Richard Parker.

Which famous Greek philosopher owes the men of a Roman army invading Asia Minor a thank you for preserving his works for future generations?

Circa 80 B.C., a Roman army invading Asia Minor happened upon a number of Aristotle’s manuscripts and brought them to Sulla. Sulla had them taken to Rome and recopied since no other known copies existed.

What type of bird is now found throughout North America because Eugene Scheifflin instituted a project in the 1890's to bring to America each type of bird mentioned in the works of Shakespeare?

A well-intentioned philanthropist, Eugene Scheifflin, instituted a project in the 1890's to bring to America each type of bird mentioned in the works of Shakespeare. As Hotspur talks about the starling in Henry IV, Part I, starlings were let loose in New York's Central Park. There are now millions of starlings throughout all of North America.