Question 1: What was the pen name of the author Eric Blair?
Question 2: Who wrote the opera "The Marriage of Figaro"?
"The Marriage of Figaro" is an opera buffa (comic opera) composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It is based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais.
Question 3: When did the last ice age end?
The last ice age, also known as the Pleistocene Epoch, ended approximately 11,700 years ago. This marked the beginning of the Holocene Epoch, which is the current geological epoch.
Question 4: Who wrote the music for the hit Broadway musical "Hamilton"?
Lin-Manuel Miranda is the creator, composer, lyricist, and original star of the groundbreaking musical "Hamilton". The show, which premiered on Broadway in 2015, blends hip-hop, R&B, pop, soul, and traditional-style show tunes to tell the story of American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. It has won numerous awards, including 11 Tony Awards, a Grammy, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
Question 5: In which novel did C.S. Lewis first introduce the magical land of Narnia?
Though The Magician's Nephew is chronologically the first book in the Narnia series, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was the first to be published in 1950 and introduced readers to the world of Narnia for the first time.
Question 6: Which cartoon character is known for frequently trying to catch the Road Runner?
Wile E. Coyote is a character from the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons, created by Chuck Jones. He is known for his endless and unsuccessful attempts to catch the Road Runner, often using various contraptions and devices from the fictitious Acme Corporation.
Question 7: Why were early cars called "horseless carriages"?
Early automobiles were called "horseless carriages" because they closely resembled horse-drawn carriages in design, but were propelled by an engine instead of horses. This term helped people understand what these new vehicles were by relating them to something familiar.
Question 8: What is the process called when a solid changes directly into a gas without passing through the liquid state?
Sublimation is the transition of a substance directly from the solid to the gas state, without passing through the liquid state. A common example is dry ice (solid carbon dioxide) turning into carbon dioxide gas at room temperature without first melting into a liquid.
Question 9: When is the best time to plant corn in the northern hemisphere?
Corn is typically planted in the spring in the northern hemisphere, after the last frost has passed and the soil has warmed up. This allows the corn to grow and mature during the warm summer months before being harvested in the fall.
Question 10: Who, according to English folklore, stole from the rich to give to the poor?
Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw in English folklore. He was known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by his group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men".
Eric Blair, better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterized by lucid prose, biting social criticism, opposition to totalitarianism, and outspoken support of democratic socialism. He is best known for his novels Animal Farm (1945) and Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949).