General Knowledge Quiz

[MotCO]

No answers yet, so here is a clue: Both are pen-names.

Are they both the same person? Are they both Mark Twain?

 

[xotGD]

Are they both the same person? Are they both Mark Twain?

They are both the same person. Sean Thomas, rather than Mark Twain. Apparently many readers are convinced that S.K. Tremayne is a woman - but he isn't!

Your turn to visit the bookshelves of General Knowledge...

 

[MotCO]

They are both the same person. Sean Thomas, rather than Mark Twain. Apparently many readers are convinced that S.K. Tremayne is a woman - but he isn't!

Your turn to visit the bookshelves of General Knowledge...

Ok, thanks. Moving away from literary questions, for what are we thankful for Larry Tesler?

 

[MotCO]

Time for a hint. Larry Tesler was an American, born 1945, died 2020.

 

[Calthrop]

No relation,I suppose, to Nikola Tesla (1856 -- 1943) -- brilliant but erratic Serbian-American engineer and inventor ?

 

[MotCO]

No relation,I suppose, to Nikola Tesla (1856 -- 1943) -- brilliant but erratic Serbian-American engineer and inventor ?

No known connection.

 

[341o2]

Copy and paste function in computing

 

[MotCO]

Copy and paste function in computing

Correct. The floor is all yours.

 

[341o2]

Who is known as the father of modern computing and what did he design for the railways

 

[MotCO]

Who is known as the father of modern computing and what did he design for the railways

I'll say Charles Babbage, and I'll say he invented the device at the old London Underground HQ at 55 Broadway which tracked all the trains passing a fixed point on each line to show how the services were running. (I've tried to find a photo of these, but can't. Does anyone else remember these round glass-faced dials?)

Edit: found a photo of them: https://live.staticflickr.com/5756/31277095732_6a1850d326.jpg (Picture shows six dials in a case entitled Service Intervals, which are mounted on a bronze trimmed glass panel displaying the frequency of services on individual tube lines.)

 

[Peter Mugridge]

I'll say Charles Babbage, and I'll say he invented the device at the old London Underground HQ at 55 Broadway which tracked all the trains passing a fixed point on each line to show how the services were running. (I've tried to find a photo of these, but can't. Does anyone else remember these round glass-faced dials?)

Do you mean these?

55 Broadway - The train service indicators - Picture of 55 Broadway, London - Tripadvisor

55 Broadway, London Picture: 55 Broadway - The train service indicators - Check out Tripadvisor members' 61 candid photos and videos of 55 Broadway

www.tripadvisor.com

For forum rules: The link goes to an image of the train describers in the lobby of 55 Broadway

 

[341o2]

I'd say you are right, he invented the analytical engine in the 19th centuary, the device he is best known for in connection with railways is the dynamometer car
Your floor

 

[MotCO]

Southport is home to the national museum of what?

 

[Calthrop]

Lawnmowers?

 

[MotCO]

Lawnmowers?

You're a cut above the rest! Well done, the floor is yours.

 

[Calthrop]

That one is thanks to my brother, who long ago lived for a while in Southport. Perhaps I should ask him if he has a question which I could put on his behalf ? Anyway, action of whatever kind, before long.

 

[Calthrop]

cockatrice

hippogriff

camelopard

manticore


Which is the odd one out, here?

 

[341o2]

Cameleopard because it is another word for giraffe and a real extant creature

 

[Calthrop]

This must be a contender for the all-time record ! @341o2 : ride out in triumph on fantastical beast of your choice, and take command of the floor.

 

[341o2]

Right place at the right time, also knowing the term for giraffe and the cockatrice being mentioned in the King James Bible, the quote from Isaiah being read at the Festival of 9 Lessons & Carols every Christmas

Human anatomy. What is the significance of the Hepatic Portal Vein

 

[xotGD]

It supplies blood to the liver.

Therefore is the only vein supplying blood TO an organ?

 

[341o2]

Yes, blood from the intestine, spleen, pancreas and gall bladder to the aforementioned organ and does not connect directly to the heart

Your floor

 

[xotGD]

Speaker of the House of Commons Lindsay Hoyle represents which constituency?

 

[EbbwJunction1]

It's Chorley in Lancashire, isn't it?

 

[xotGD]

It's Chorley in Lancashire, isn't it?

That's the correct answer. Your turn in the Speaker's chair...

 

[EbbwJunction1]

Thank you; here's one for you all.

Sir Peter Tapsell (2010 - 2015), Sir Gerald Kaufman (2015 - 2017), Kenneth Clarke (2017 - 2019) and Sir Peter Bottomley (2019 - ) are the last four holders of which title?

 

[xotGD]

Father of the House

 

[EbbwJunction1]

Well, that didn't take long, did it? Well done, sir - your parliamentary privilege is granted!

 

[xotGD]

I like politics questions

Change of topic:

MTBE is used as a petrol additive. What is its full name?

 

[Strat-tastic]

Methyl-tetrabutyl-ethane.