News

Idle moments – June/July 2023

May 30, 2023
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Hello again and welcome to the New Carolingian Era – officially now that we’ve had a coronation. Did you camp out to watch the processions? No? I didn’t either – for the second time. In 1953, I was a bit too young for such an activity and this time I thought I’d leave it to somebody a bit younger. Well, it’s not my fault they were 70 years apart!
Anyway, not to worry; let’s have some number puzzles:
1. 3032 M is the MD of M
2. 4 C in the HH
3. 2 S on the W and CL
4. 8 E on a BBFTB
5. 201,168 M in a F
6. 6 SB on the B
7. 2 ST as P of the USA by GC
8. 4 UL at WS
9. 2 P for a C in B
10.17 is the AN of C

For 5BY4 this time, I thought I would look at recycling codes. No doubt you’ve seen those little triangles, made of three bent arrows and with numbers inside on plastic food trays. Well, they don’t just apply to plastic but to quite a range of recyclable materials. Here are ten examples of such numbers and ten materials to which they apply. Can you match them up? Can you be bothered?

1.  50   A.   Polyethylene (low density)
2.  04   B.   Glass (clear)
3.  70   C.   Polyethylene tetraphthalate (PET)
4.  22   D.   Lithium Battery
5.  09   E.   Paper
6.  41   F.   Corrugated cardboard
7.  12   G.   Polystyrene
8.  06   H.   Wood
9.  20   I.   Alkaline battery
10. 20   J.   Aluminium

For trivial knowledge this time, I thought I’d begin with a few phobias and then do a few questions related to the coronation and other things royal. The juxtaposition is purely coincidental, I assure you!

  1. What is pogonophobia?
  2. Of what is a Triskaidekaphobe frightened?
  3. If you suffer from Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia, what are you frightened of?
  4. Acrophobia is a fear of what?
  5. Among lots of trivia about the coronation, it was noted that Charles III is the country’s oldest monarch to be crowned. Which king previously held this record, how old was he and when was he crowned?
  6. On 2 February 1626, an earth tremor was felt in Westminster Abbey during whose coronation?
  7. Although slightly clouded by history, who is believed to be the first monarch to be crowned in the Coronation Chair in 1308?
  8. Still thinking of things royal after the coronation, who is currently fifth in the line of succession to the throne of the United Kingdom?
  9. On the morning of 2 June 1953, before the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II ‘who’ was found asleep on the cushion of the Coronation Chair?
  10. Lastly on the royal theme, which building is the most senior royal palace in London (and the London residence of the Prince of Wales, the Princess Royal and Princess Alexandra)?

Well, there you are for another couple of months. I hope you enjoyed (or will continue enjoying) this little selection of brain teasers (or bludgeoners). Now you can get on with enjoying life until the next lot appears.

Andy Pirson

Answers from the April/May edition

Here are the solutions to the puzzles set in the April/May Idle Moments column:

Number puzzles:

  1. 3410 Degrees Celsius is the Melting Point of Tungsten
  2. 16 Pawns in a Game of Chess
  3. 20 Pennyweight in a Troy Ounce
  4. 9 of Diamonds is the Curse of Scotland
  5. 1472 Original Number of Flying Scotsman
  6. 22 Balls in a Game of Snooker
  7. 1,609,344 Millimetres in a Mile
  8. 4 Monarchs of England Had no Regnal Number (Stephen, John, Anne, Victoria)
  9. 16 Atomic Number of Sulphur
  10. 65 Underground Stations in Zone One

5BY4 (longest reigns – after Elizabeth II and Victoria):

  1. George III – 59 years, 97 days
  2. Henry III – 56 years, 20 days
  3. Edward III – 50 years, 148 days
  4. Elizabeth I – 44 years, 128 days
  5. Henry VI – 39 years, 11 days
  6. Henry VIII – 37 years, 282 days
  7. Henry I – 35 years, 119 days
  8. Edward I – 34 years, 230 days
  9. Henry II – 34 years, 200 days
  10. George II – 33 years, 126 days

General knowledge:

  1. The successful American duo Lester William Polsfuss and Iris Colleen Summers (active 1949 to 1964) were professionally known as Les Paul and Mary Ford.
  2. The 1990 Mark Knopfler album Neck on Neck was made with legendary American country guitarist, Chet Atkins.
  3. The 2006 Mark Knopfler album of country song duets, Real Live Roadrunning was a collaboration with Emmylou Harris.
  4. The three female American singers who produced the albums, Trio and Trio II are Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt.
  5. Raymond Mays (1899 to 1980) of Bourne, Lincolnshire, was the leading light behind ERA (English Racing Automobiles) and BRM (British Racing Motors).
  6. The family name linking a British engine manufacturer and a cricketing formula is Duckworth. They are Cosworth (Mike Costin and Keith Duckworth) and the Duckworth Lewis method (Frank Duckworth and Tony Lewis). (This has since evolved into the Duckworth–Lewis–Stern method).
  7. The iconic consumer product first developed by the German engineer Oskar Barnack in 1925 was the original 35mm still camera (the Leica).
  8. The notable achievement performed by Samuel Franklin Cody on 16 October 1907 was the first sustained powered flight in the UK.
  9. According to the National Motor Museum, the first British four-wheeled petrol-engined motor car was driven on a public highway in December 1894 (by Frank William Bremner).
  10. The product patented by Carless, Capel & Leonard of Hackney Wick (and the first to use the term) was petrol.