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The All New All New Groundspeak UK Pub Quiz


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Posted

I haven't read the book since I was a teenager but that looks like Sauron's ring inscription from Lord of the Rings.

 

"One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them, one ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them"

 

Or something like that.

Posted

Returning to the Baker Street theme once more, there was another (non-fictional) group called the Baker Street Irregulars that were actually based at 64 Baker Street. Who were they?

Posted

Since Stargazing Live is on at the moment and this hasn't been answered in a while, I'll jump in with a guess at astronomers, as I've half-a-feeling there is such a group. Note sure about that past-tense in the question though... :(

 

On a side note, over 250,000 views! Which I think may make this the second-most viewed thread on Groundspeak's forums? Thanks everyone!

Posted

Wasn't it a group of spies in WW2?

I suspect that it would be irregular troops rather than spies. Irregulars are special forces, resistance cells, guerrillas, etc. In WWII, these would probably have been coordinated by the Special Operations Executive (SOE). So I wonder if the Baker Street Irregulars might have been one or more of the groups controlled by SOE during WWII.

Posted

Since Stargazing Live is on at the moment and this hasn't been answered in a while, I'll jump in with a guess at astronomers, as I've half-a-feeling there is such a group. Note sure about that past-tense in the question though... :(

 

On a side note, over 250,000 views! Which I think may make this the second-most viewed thread on Groundspeak's forums? Thanks everyone!

 

I believe there is but it's not the group I'm looking for. :)

Posted

Wasn't it a group of spies in WW2?

I suspect that it would be irregular troops rather than spies. Irregulars are special forces, resistance cells, guerrillas, etc. In WWII, these would probably have been coordinated by the Special Operations Executive (SOE). So I wonder if the Baker Street Irregulars might have been one or more of the groups controlled by SOE during WWII.

 

Close, maxx but they weren't just spies. Pajaholic was much closer with his irregular forces although espionage was one branch of their activities.

 

It was the SOE itself that was based at 64 Baker Street during WWII so the DING! goes to Pajaholic.

 

Over to you sir. :)

Posted

Thanks for the unexpected ding!

 

Loosely related: One of the SOE operations was to thwart the Nazi atomic bomb programme by sabotaging the plant that produced heavy water. The saboteurs became known as the Heroes of Telemark, which gives the link to my question:

 

In which variant of which activity would you find a Telemark turn? (and bonus kudos if you can describe one!)

Posted (edited)

Skiing

 

Not sure I can describe one though. Is it where you plant a pole and jump into the turn with both skis parallel?

Edited by MTH
Posted (edited)

Skiing

 

Not sure I can describe one though. Is it where you plant a pole and jump into the turn with both skis parallel?

 

Isn't it the way ski jumpers land... sort of knees bent, one ski in front of the other.

 

EDIT... Ignore that.... Should have read the question properly!!

Edited by Pharisee
Posted

Skiing

 

Not sure I can describe one though. Is it where you plant a pole and jump into the turn with both skis parallel?

 

Isn't it the way ski jumpers land... sort of knees bent, one ski in front of the other.

 

EDIT... Ignore that.... Should have read the question properly!!

I think that's the Telemark landing, the Telemark turn is the same sort of movement to make a turn in cross country skiing.

Posted (edited)

Perhaps I should read the question and not answer the question I expect it to be :rolleyes: having missed the "which variant" part.

 

However I'm pretty sure you can use it in most forms of skiing - downhill, slalom or cross-country.

Edited by MTH
Posted (edited)

I think that's the Telemark landing, the Telemark turn is the same sort of movement to make a turn in cross country skiing.

That'll get you a DING!

 

It would have been difficult to respond to MTH or Pharisee without giving the answer away. MTH described a Christiana (or parallel) turn used by Alpine skiiers. Ski jumpers land in the Telemark position but use a Christiana turn to stop, so I couldn't give the ding to Pharisee either.

 

A Telemark turn is used in cross-country, Nordic, or Telemark skiing. In those disciplines the bindings allow your heels to rise. It's impossible to use a Telemark turn in Alpine skiing because the bindings won't allow your inside heel to rise off the ski. The turn is made with the outside ski well-forward, outside heel flat, inside heel raised, and with most weight on the outside ski. In contrast, the Christiana (stem christie) turn has the weight on the inside ski and the inside ski slightly forward of the outside.

 

Over to MartyBartfast...

Edited by Pajaholic
Posted

Easy one: Eugene Cernan. Hopefully not the last *ever* man to walk on the moon, but the most recent, if I can put it that way.(Some people might say Schmitt, but he was the 12th man to walk on the moon. He got back in the LM ahead of Cernan on their final moonwalk though.)

Posted

Since it's on a similar theme I'll guess it's in space.

 

As for what it is, that's tougher. At a guess one of the many rocky asteroids, planetoids, minor planets, plutoids or whatever they're now called.

Posted

Wow, that was a guess.

 

So my question...

 

What was the first animal ever sent into space? (Bonus points if you can tell me what type of transport took them there)

Wasn't that Leika the dog. No idea of name of craft though.

Posted

I've a feeling this has been on QI. I think it was fruit flies (if they count as animals) launched in the late 40s inboard a captured V2. There may have been experiments with high altitude balloons before that, but you can argue a balloon can never get into space, just somewhere sort-of near it...

Posted

Thanks very much Maxx. Leika's story isn't a happy one, but was an important step along the path to safe space travel for humans. BTW, If anyone likes space sim games I've been addicted to Kerbal Space Program for a while. Really good fun and an old version is free on their website.

 

Anyway, to take things off in a 180 degree tangent (on a free return trajectory), what's a stiletto?

Posted

Thanks very much Maxx. Leika's story isn't a happy one, but was an important step along the path to safe space travel for humans. BTW, If anyone likes space sim games I've been addicted to Kerbal Space Program for a while. Really good fun and an old version is free on their website.

 

Anyway, to take things off in a 180 degree tangent (on a free return trajectory), what's a stiletto?

I only know it as a dagger (after which the heel shape is named)

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