David Bowie Trivia

Posted on February 10, 2010 by Jane

David Bowie is definitely one of the most original and unique characters in the world of Rock and Roll. His career has spanned decades and he has been an innovator and a leader in all of them. David is considered by many to be one of the all time greatest pop musicians. His talents are not limited to the stage. David is also an accomplished actor, producer, and arranger.

David Bowie was born on the 8th of January 1947 in London, England. His birth name was David Robert Jones. To avoid being confused with Davy Jones, he changed his name to David Bowie in 1966.

David Bowie can play a large assortment of different instruments. He plays, keyboards, saxophone, drums, guitar, and numerous others.

David is five feet ten inches tall and has blue eyes. When David was 15 he was punched in the face, by George Underwood. The result of this punch was permanent damage to his left eye. The pupil in his left eye is permanently dilated, which gives him the appearance of having two different colored eyes. This injury affects both his depth perception and his ability to see colors. Continue reading →

Mick Jagger Trivia

Posted on February 10, 2010 by Jane

Mick Jagger is one of the most recognized faces in the world of Rock and Roll and is often portrayed as being one of the really bad boys of the music scene. While, it is true that Mick is certainly no Saint, he is not nearly as bad as the media presents him to be. Regardless of all the bad publicity Mick has received over the years, there can be no denying his, and the Rolling Stones’, contributions to the world of Rock and Roll.

Mick and the Rolling Stones have won many awards and received various tributes throughout the years. Not only was Mick knighted in 2003 by Prince Charles but he was also inducted into the Song Writers Hall of fame in 1993. Continue reading →

How many children are in the Von Trapp family in the film The Sound of Music?

Posted on February 10, 2010 by Jane

In the film, the family had seven children. The children were Lisel, Louisa, Fredrich, Kurt, Brigitta, Marta and Gretl. The story is about Maria, a novice from a nearby convent that is recruited to become the family’s governess. The movie is loosely based on the real story of the Von Trapp family.

This movie debuted in 1965 and starred Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Peggy Wood and Richard Haydn. This Oscar written film was directed by Robert Wise. The film was written by Russel Crouse and Howard Lindsay and the music was written and composed by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein.

The Sound of Music won five Oscars, best director, best picture, best sound, best film editing and best music score. Additionally, it was nominated for five others. Continue reading →

When will Halley’s Comet reappear?

Posted on February 10, 2010 by Jane

Halley’s comet will reappear in 2061. The comet which was named after the British astronomer, Edmund Halley, last appeared in 1985/86.

Edmund Halley was the first person to recognize that comets traveled in orbits. He was able to expand on Sir Isaac Newton’s laws and principles about motion and gravity. Halley used Newton’s mathematical formulas to correctly predict when the comet would reappear. Halley made these predictions in his Synopsis Astronomia Cometicae, published in 1705. Continue reading →

Labyrinth Movie Trivia

Posted on February 10, 2010 by Jane

Labyrinth is an imaginative fantasy film that was released in1986. The movie was directed by legendary puppeteer Jim Hensen. It was produced by George Lucas and stars David Bowie and a cast of Hensen’s famous Muppets.

The film was written by Jim Hensen, Elaine May, Dennis Lee and Terry Jones. Elaine May is not only a writer but an actress and director. She was nominated for an Oscar for her work on the film Heaven Can Wait. Dennis Lee, is an award winning, Canadian children’s author. He was also one of the writers for the television series Fraggle Rock. Terry Jones, is best known for his years as a member of the British comedy team Monty Python. Continue reading →

What is the Tallest Building in the World?

Posted on February 10, 2010 by Jane

Before you can answer that question, you have to first answer a number of other questions and define what kind of building it is.

Is the building a tower or communications antennae or does it serve some other purpose?

Where do you start measuring the building? Do you include the basement, underground supports or, in some cases, the underwater portions of the structure?

Additionally, if an antennae is added to the top of the structure, do you include it to be part of the measurement? Continue reading →

How Tall is the Eiffel Tower?

Posted on February 10, 2010 by Jane

The Eiffel Tower, including the spire, is 324 m ( 1063 feet) tall.

A world wide symbol of both Paris and France, construction on the tower began in 1887, and was completed in 1889. The tower was originally built as one of the exhibits in the Paris World Fair of 1889.

The man behind the tower was Alexander Gustave Eiffel. It was originally built for and entered into a contest that had been organized by the French Government. The Eiffel Tower won the contest with over more than 700 other entries. Upon completion, the Tower was not universally popular. In fact, there were many who were opposed to it and considered it be an eyesore. Among those who felt this way were, Alexander Dumas, Charles Garnier, Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier and Charles Gounod.
Continue reading →

Which Planet has the Most Moons?

Posted on February 10, 2010 by Jane

Jupiter has the most moons. As of 2009, Jupiter has 63 known satellites or moons.

Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system. It is the fifth planet from the sun and was named after the Roman god Jupiter. It is considered one of the gas planets with the others being Uranus, Neptune and Saturn. Jupiter is mainly made up of hydrogen, and is about one quarter helium. Scientists speculate that it may have a rock core. It rotates in about ten hours on its own axis and take about 12 years to make one orbit around the sun.

Jupiter’s largest moons were discovered by Galileo Galilei. Galileo, was an Italian astronomer, philosopher, mathematician and physicist. He was born on Feb. 15th 1564 and died on the 8th of Jan. in 1642. He discovered the moons of Jupiter and published his findings in 1610. Another astronomer, Simon Marius claimed to have observed the moons at the same time, however since he did not publish his findings the credit is given to Galileo.
Continue reading →

Who was Saint Patrick?

Posted on February 10, 2010 by Jane

Saint Patrick is one of the best known and recognized Saints. Saint Patrick lived in the 400’s and, as with many saints and historic figures, exact dates, places and events are often questioned and cannot be verified. Luckily, there is more information about this man and his life than most historic figures of his time. Regardless of the exact facts, Saint Patrick is one of the most popular of all the Saints and has come to represent not only Christianity but all things Irish.

Saint Patrick was born in Britain. The exact year of his birth and death is under debate. It is generally believed that he was born around the year 400. One date that is commonly found is the year 387. The date of his death is often listed as being the 17th of March, 461.

One of the major events relating to St. Patrick’s life claims that he drove the snakes out of Ireland. This is now questioned. Although there are no snakes in Ireland, there probably never were any. One theory suggest that the snakes were actually a symbol of how St. Patrick drove paganism and its gods out of Ireland.

Two letters that are said to have been written by Saint Patrick still exist, the Declaration and a letter to the soldiers of Coroticus. The Declaration is a letter describing his early life, captivity and his mission in Ireland. Continue reading →

Saint Patrick’s Day Trivia

Posted on February 10, 2010 by Jane

It is often said that everyone is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day! The feast day of Saint Patrick is a holy day in the Catholic Church. The holiday is also recognized by the Anglican church, the country of Ireland and many other English speaking countries.

St. Patrick’s Day is the 17th of March.

In Ireland St. Patrick’s Day is a national holiday. In North America while the Day is recognized and celebrated it is not a national holiday.

St. Patrick’s Day often falls during the period of Lent due to the fact that Easter is not celebrated on a fixed day. If the feast of St. Patrick falls during Lent, which is a fasting period, the fasting does not have to be observed. If St. Patrick’s Day falls during Holy Week, the 7 days leading up to Easter, the Catholic Church will reallocate the date of the feast. This last time this happened was in 1940, when St. Patrick’s Day would have fallen on the same day as Palm Sunday. The Church moved the date to the third of March, to avoid a conflict. Thankfully, this does not occur very often. Continue reading →