Put on a happy face

cover story

Joker

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, and Frances Conroy

Directed by: Todd Phillips

Written by: Todd Phillips and Scott Silver

Running time: 122 minutes

Music by: Hildur Guðnadóttir

Tagline: Put on a happy face.

The evolution of the comic book movie has been nothing short of magical. 

Even a little over a decade ago, it would’ve been hard to wager that superhero movies would soon be the world’s biggest blockbusters. Yet, just a few short years later, comic book adaptations have become the indisputable rulers of the box office, and one of them is even the highest grossing film of all time.

As superheroes have leapt out of the pages of graphic novels and taken over the silver screen, the Big Two of the comic book world – Marvel and DC – have found themselves battling it out for ultimate supremacy. So far, it’s Marvel that has come out on top, thanks to the unprecedented success of its Avengers collective. But even though building a connected universe hasn’t worked out quite as well for DC, they have still had their share of successes, most notably with Christopher Nolan’s terrific The Dark Knight trilogy.

It’s the world of Batman that has now provided DC with yet another triumph. But this time it’s not the Caped Crusader who is taking centre stage. Instead the spotlight has been turned to his biggest nemesis, the Joker.

The notorious character – one of pop culture’s best-known villains – has already had several cinematic outings, mostly as a baddie in Batman’s escapades, and has been portrayed by some enormously talented actors, including Jack Nicholson who played him in 1989’s Batman, Heath Ledger who essayed the role in 2008’s The Dark Knight, and Jared Leto who played the part in 2016’s Suicide Squad (and even Zach Galifianakis who voiced the character in 2017’s delightful The Lego Batman Movie).

Unlike all these iterations though, the new film chooses to focus on the character’s origin story, detailing how a struggling comedian ends up becoming the Clown Prince of Crime.

Joaquin Phoenix portrays the protagonist, Arthur Fleck, a man who works as a party clown but aspires to be a stand-up comedian. Arthur lives with his aging mother (who is forever waiting for her former employer, billionaire mayoral candidate Thomas Wayne, to answer her letters). He suffers from mental health issues, including a condition that causes him to laugh at inappropriate times.

But an incident leads to him being fired from his clown job, making him even more desolate. This, combined with an episode of bullying, pushes him to his breaking point. He snaps. Violence ensues.

It’s all very dark and gritty, and it’s very thoroughly riveting.

Writer and director Todd Phillips has created one of the most compelling dramas in the DC universe this side of Nolan’s trilogy. 

An intriguingly disturbing central character, engrossing story, absorbing atmosphere, terrific score and soundtrack, and, most significantly, a very powerful performance by Phoenix all come together to create a chilling portrait that redefines an infamous villain. Phoenix, in fact, is so deeply committed and astoundingly brilliant in the part that his portrayal even gives Ledger’s version of the villain a run for his money. The supporting players around him have also been brought to life by talented actors, including the legendary Robert De Niro (who appears as a talk show host who plays a part in Arthur’s unravelling), the lovely Zazie Beetz (Arthur’s love interest), and the ever-reliable Frances Conroy (Arthur’s mother).

While there are elements of the film that come off as a bit derivative and while its ultimate destination is obviously a foregone conclusion, Joker does manage to create an interesting tale and also holds up a mirror to society, deeming us responsibility for the plight of humanity.

But – and it’s a very significant but – Joker’s narrative is also undeniably problematic.

For starters, being mistreated by society does not and should not justify murder or make a character seem more sympathetic, like it’s meant to here. Plus equating mental health problems to crime just perpetuates the misconception that people with mental illnesses are bound to be violent. It’s always frustrating when someone associates mental issues with violence, even more so when a mass-consumed piece of entertainment chooses to reinforce this inaccurate stereotype. The stigma around mental problems is already troubling, and Joker’s negative depiction doesn’t do anyone any good. We need to do so much more for an already stigmatized group, not harm them further in the name of entertainment. The film could have easily avoided this pitfall and spun a tale with just as much impact without employing this toxic trope.

If you ignore the film’s take on mental illness though – and you really shouldn’t, because it certainly is an issue – then you have a dark, twisted tale powered by a terrific lead performance, one that will stay with you long after you’ve left the cinema. Joker is a very well made movie, an unsettling albeit fascinating watch, and one of DC’s most intriguing episodes; it’s just that it could have been a lot less problematic if it had been a little more tactful.

*****

Dazzling DC

The world of DC Comics

1. What does the “DC” in “DC Comics” stand for?

A. Dramatic Comics

B. Dynamic Creations

C. Detective Comics

D. Direct Current

2. What was the name of the comic book publishing company that eventually morphed into DC Comics?

A. Superhero Comics

B. Fantastic Comics 

C. American Publications

D. National Comics Publications

3. Who was the first DC superhero?

A. Doctor Occult

B. Shazam

C. Batman

D. Superman

4. Which DC character has made the most appearances?

A. Superman

B. Batman

C. Green Arrow

D. Wonder Woman

DC superheroes

5. Which of these is not a character created by DC?

A. The Defenestrator, a man who carries around a window through which he throws criminals

B. Dog Welder, a hero who welds dead dogs to people’s faces

C. Galaxoid, a woman who can wield galactic objects like meteors and comets

D. Guts, a mass of internal organs arranged in a humanoid shape

6. Who is Aquaman’s archnemesis?

A. Sinestro

B. Black Manta

C. Cheetah

D. Silver Banshee

7. Who won the crossover clash between Marvel and DC?

A. Marvel

B. DC

C. It was a draw

D. It never happened

8. Fans were given the chance to decide the fate of which character that they then voted to kill off?

A. Harley Quinn

B. Robin

C. Superman

D. Flash

Joker

9. Which of these statements about the Joker is not true?

A. He prefers his past to be multiple choice

B. He has super sanity

C. He was originally supposed to die after a few appearances

D. He has a daughter with Harley Quinn

10. Which of these is not one of the Joker’s many nicknames?

A. Mister J

B. Clown Prince of Crime

C. Ace of Knaves

D. Jester of Jeopardy 

11. Which Star Wars actor is renowned for voicing the Joker?

A. Adam Drive 

B. James Earl Jones 

C. Harrison Ford

D. Mark Hamill

12. This is Joaquin Phoenix’s first leading role in a comic book film. Which part did he previously turn down?

A. Thor

B. Hulk

C. Doctor Strange

D. Hawkeye

-----

Answers

1. C

“DC” stands for Detective Comics. The abbreviation comes from the company Detective Comics Inc. and their popular series, also titled Detective Comics, which was initially published from 1937 to 2011 and later continued in 2016.

This makes DC Comics’ full name “Detective Comics Comics”.

2. D

American comic book publishing company National Comics Publications, Inc. was the direct predecessor of DC Comics.

The companies National Allied Publications (formed in 1934) and Detective Comics, Inc. (formed in 1937) merged into National Comics Publications in 1946 before eventually being renamed National Periodical Publications, Inc. in 1961. The company soon became known colloquially as DC Comics, before officially adopting the moniker in 1977.

3. A

Ghost detective Doctor Occult – a private investigator who uses magic and specializes in supernatural cases – is considered the first DC superhero. He first appeared in 1935 and is the earliest DC character who still appears in the DC Universe. 

4. B

According to the folks at Ranker, Batman has appeared most frequently in comic books across all publications (more than 14,000 issues), followed closely by Superman (more than 13,000 issues).

5. C

The Defenestrator, Dog Welder, and Guts were part of Section 8, a fictional team of superheroes created by writer Garth Ennis and artists John McCrea and Steve Dillon. The team first appeared in Hitman #18 (September 1997) and is named after the military discharge for service members deemed mentally unfit for duty.

6. B

Underwater-based mercenary Black Manta is Aquaman’s archenemy.

Sinestro is the nemesis of Green Lantern. Cheetah is Wonder Woman’s archenemy. And Silver Banshee is primarily an opponent of Superman.

7. A

The DC versus Marvel Comics crossover miniseries was published in 1996. There were 11 battles fought between the two universes. Six were determined by the miniseries’ creative team (both Marvel and DC won 3 each) while the remaining were determined by the readers’ votes (Marvel won 3, DC 2).

8. B

In 1988, the fate of Batman sidekick Jason “Robin” Todd was left in the hands of fans. They voted – 5,343 to 5,271 – to axe the Boy Wonder.

9. All of them are true.

In Alan Moore’s graphic novel, The Killing Joke, the Joker says “If I’m going to have a past, I prefer it to be multiple choice!”

In Grant Morrison’s Arkham Asylum, he is described as having “super sanity”.

The Joker was meant to be killed off in his second appearance but was spared after editor Whitney Ellsworth saw potential in the character.

In the Injustice series, Joker and Harley Quinn have a daughter, Lucy Quinzel.

10. D

Jester of Jeopardy isn’t one of the Joker’s names. Jester of Genocide is.

11. D

Mark Hamill has received critical acclaim for his voice performance as the Joker. He started played the role in 1992 and has voiced the character in various television shows, films, and video games.

12. C

Before Benedict Cumberbatch was hired to play Doctor Strange, Joaquin Phoenix had been in talks to portray the mystical Marvel superhero, but he passed on the role, a decision that he thinks worked out well for everyone involved.

- Sameen Amer

Us Magazine, The News International, 25th October, 2019 *

Fascinating flags

quiz whiz

1. Which colour appears most commonly on the national flags of the world?
A. Red
B. White
C. Blue
D. Green

2. What number of colours most frequently appear on flags?
A. 2
B. 3
C. 4
D. 5

3. Which colour is almost never found on flags?
A. Grey
B. Brown
C. Purple
D. Yellow

4. What is the most common symbol on national flags?
A. Star
B. Moon
C. Tree
D. Sun

5. Which country’s flag is this?

A. United Kingdom
B. Australia
C. New Zealand
D. Fiji

6. Until 2011, which country’s flag was only one colour?
A. Venezuela
B. Malawi
C. Georgia
D. Libya

7. Which country’s flag is square?
A. Panama
B. Qatar
C. Switzerland
D. Vatican City

8. Which country has the only national flag in the world that is not four sided?
A. North Korea
B. Nepal
C. Niger
D. Namibia

9. What mythical creature appears on the flag of Bhutan?
A. Minotaur
B. Unicorn
C. Dragon
D. Sasquatch

10. Which country’s flag has a bunch of bananas on it?
A. Philippines
B. Ecuador
C. Indonesia
D. Fiji

11. Which two countries have identical flags?
A. Chad and Romania
B. Ireland and Ivory Coast
C. Guinea and Mali
D. Indonesia and Poland

12. Which country’s flag is different on the front and back side?
A. Chile
B. Argentina
C. Uruguay
D. Paraguay

*****

Answers
1. A
Red is the most common colour on national flags, and appears on more than two-third of the flags in the world. The area taken up by red on flags varies; some – like the flags of China, Morocco, Turkey, and Vietnam – are primarily red, while others – like Fiji, Guam, and Zambia – only have smaller areas of the colour.
White and Blue are the second and third most frequent colours on flags.

2. B
The most frequent flags in the world are the three-coloured flags.
Tribands – flags with three parallel bands – are a popular choice. Around one-third of all current national flags are triband, and many of these are tricolour. Red, again, is the most popular colour.

3. C
There is a reason purple is linked to royalty – it used to be very expensive. Centuries ago, purple dye came from sea snail and was very difficult and costly to make, which is why it became the colour of nobility and was not suitable for flags.
Today  only small touches of purple can now be found on the flags of Dominica (a sisserou parrot) and Nicaragua (rainbow).

4. A
The star is the most common symbol on the flags of the world. At least one star appears on the flags of more than 50 countries, including our own beloved Parcham-e Sitarah o-Hilal. The flag of the United States of America has fifty stars which represent the 50 U.S. states.

5. C
This is the flag of New Zealand, one of a number of countries and territories – also including Australia, Fiji, and Tuvalu – that incorporates the British flag, the Union Jack, into their own flag.
But the Union Jack is disappearing from the flags as the Commonwealth nations drop the British symbol and adopt new flags. Canada made the change in 1965, and South Africa dropped the it in 1994. Tuvalu removed the Union Jack in 1996 but reinstated it in 1997. In recent years, there has also been interest in changing the flags of New Zealand, Australian, and Fiji.

6. D
Venezuela, Malawi, Libya, and Georgia have all changed their flags recently.
Until 2011, Libya had a plain green flag that was chosen by Muammar Gaddafi to symbolise his political philosophy (which was detailed in The Green Book) and was introduced in 1977. After the revolution in which Qaddafi was overthrown, a new flag was adopted, which is actually an old flag that was previously used for the Kingdom of Libya (1951 – 1969).

7. C and D
The flag of Switzerland consists of a red base with a white equilateral cross in the centre, and is one of only two square sovereign-state flags. The other one is the flag of Vatican City, a vertical bicolour with gold/yellow and white bands, with the crossed keys of Saint Peter and the Papal Tiara centred on the latter.

8. B
Nepal has the only national flag in the world that isn’t four sided. The non-quadrilateral flag has five sides, a combination of two triangles. It is red in colour with a blue border and features the sun and the crescent moon as emblems.

9. C
Druk, the Thunder Dragon of Bhutanese mythology, graces the flag of Bhutan. The flag, adopted in 1969, is divided diagonally into two triangles, one yellow and the other orange, and has the white dragon holding four jewels in its claws in the centre.

10. D
The Fijian flag – a sky blue background with the Union Jack in the upper right corner – also features a shield that represents the agricultural activities on the Pacific island. The white shield with a red cross and red chief is divided into five part:
- Top: a British lion holds a cocoa pod between its paws
- Upper left: sugar cane
- Upper right: coconut palm
- Lower left: a dove of peace
- Lower right: a bunch of bananas.

11. A
The flags of Chad and Romania are almost identical. Both are tricolors with vertical stripes of blue, yellow, and red. The only minor difference is in the shade of blue – Chad’s flag has a slightly darker shade of blue than Romania. When Chad adopted the flag in 1959, Romania's flag was different and featured an insignia in the middle of the tricolour. Concerned about the near-identical flags, Chad asked the United Nations to examine the issue in 2004, but Romania said they would not give up the tricolour or change the flag.
The flags of Ireland and Ivory Coast are vertical mirror images of each other (that is, the colours are in reverse order), as are the flags of Guinea and Mali. And the flags of Indonesia and Poland are horizontal mirror images of each other (or upside down).

12. B
The obverse and reverse of all national flags are either identical or mirrored, except for the flag of Paraguay. A horizontal triband of red, white and blue, the flag has the coat of arms of Paraguay on the front and the reverse side of the arms on the back.

- S.A.

Us Magazine,The News International - 21st September, 2018

Spectacular solar system

quiz whiz

1. What is the name of the galaxy that contains our solar system?
A. Andromeda
B. Milky Way
C. Ursa Major
D. Ursa Minor

2. How many recognized dwarf planets are in our solar system?
A. 1
B. 3
C. 5
D. 7

3. Which of these planets is farthest from the Sun?
A. Neptune
B. Saturn
C. Uranus
D. Venus

4. How many satellites does Jupiter have?
A. 9
B. 25
C. 43
D. 79

5. The planet Uranus is named after the Greek god of … ?
A. Sky
B. Sea
C. Wealth
D. War

6. The Earth takes approximately 24 hours – 1 Earth day – to complete a rotation about its axis. How many Earth days does Venus take to complete a rotation?
A. 0.5 days
B. 59 days
C. 243 days
D. 572 days

7. The Earth takes 365 days to complete a revolution around the Sun. How many days does Pluto take? In other words, what is the length of a Pluto year in Earth days?
A. 992 days
B. 2,657 days
C. 17,328 days
D. 90,560 days

8. Which is the hottest planet in our solar system?
A. Mercury
B. Venus
C. Jupiter
D. Saturn

9. What are Saturn’s rings primarily made of?
A. Rock particles
B. Ice
C. Gases
D. Dust

10. If you compare their circumferences, approximately how many times bigger is the Earth than its moon?
A. 16
B. 8
C. 4
D. 2

11. What is the most abundant element in our solar system?
A. Carbon
B. Oxygen
C. Helium
D. Hydrogen

12. What is the first humanmade object known to have travelled beyond our solar system?
A. Voyager 1
B. Voyager 2
C. Pioneer 5
D. New Horizons

*****

Answers

1. B
A galaxy is a gravitationally bound system of stars and other celestial bodies.
Our solar system is part of the Milky Way Galaxy (which takes its name from the Milky Way band of light that the galaxy forms in the night sky) and is located in the large spiral arm about two-thirds of the way from the galactic centre.
The Andromeda Galaxy is the nearest major galaxy to the Milky Way.
Ursa Major and Ursa Minor are constellations (groups of stars) in the northern sky.

2. C
A dwarf planet is a planet-like body that is in direct orbit of a star, has enough gravity to compress itself into a spheroid, but has not cleared the neighbourhood of other material around its orbit (that is, it hasn’t become gravitationally dominant and is under the influence of another body).
In 2006, lovely little Pluto (discovered in 1930) was downgraded from a planet to a dwarf planet (Thanks so much, Mike Brown! :@ #PlutoWillAlwaysBeAPlanetToMe). Four other bodies have since been recognized as dwarf planets – Ceres (discovered in 1801) and Eris (2004) which joined the list in 2006, and Haumea (2005) and Makemake (2005) which were accepted in 2008 – bringing the total number to five.
Additionally, there are six other bodies that have been proposed to be classified as dwarf planets.
The actual number of dwarf planets in our solar system, however, is much larger. It is estimated that there may be as many as 200 in the outer solar system and possibly thousands more in the region beyond.

3. A
Neptune is the farthest planet from the Sun in the solar system. It is the fourth largest planet by diameter and the third most massive planet, nearly 17 times the mass of Earth.
(Although obviously Pluto is the farthest “planet” from the Sun, and, as we’ve already established, it is clearly still a planet in my head, so Pluto is also an acceptable answer. It is the wrong answer, but it is acceptable.)

4. D
Jupiter – the largest planet in our solar system with a mass of two and a half times that of all the other planets combined – has 79 known natural satellites (10 of which were just confirmed last month). Other tiny undiscovered moons probably exist and may not have been detected yet.

5. A
Uranus gets its name from the primal Greek god Uranus whose abode was the sky. German-born British astronomer William Herschel, who discovered the planet in 1781, named it Georgium Sidus (Georgian Star) after monarch George III. The name Uranus was officially accepted in the mid-19th century, as suggested by German astronomer Johann Bode to complement the other planets which are named after Roman gods.

6. C
Venus has the longest rotation period of any planet in the Solar System. A day on Venus lasts for 243 Earth days! That’s 5,832 hours!
A Venusian day lasts longer than a Venusian year, as the planet takes around 224.7 Earth days to complete an orbit around the Sun.
Fun fact: Venus is the nearest planet to Earth when it is in the middle of the Sun and Earth, but there are times when Mars is Earth’s closest neighbour instead.

7. D
The orbital period of Pluto – THE NINTH PLANET IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM (Shut it, Neil deGrasse Tyson!) – is about 90,560 days, which means Pluto takes around 248 Earth years to complete one revolution!

8. B
You’d think Mercury would be the hottest planet since it is the closest to the Sun, but that title actually goes to Venus, which has the hottest surface temperature, even though Venus is nearly twice Mercury’s distance from the Sun. The atmosphere consists mostly of carbon dioxide which generates a strong greenhouse effect, creating surface temperatures of 462 °C.

9. B
Saturn’s rings are made almost entirely of ice, with trace components of dust and rock particles. The planet has four main groups of rings as well as three narrower groups.

10. C
The equatorial circumference of the Moon is approximately 10,917 km, while the Earth’s circumference is around 40,030 km, which makes the Earth approximately four times bigger than the Moon.

11. D
The main elements in the solar system are hydrogen (which is the most abundant) and helium, primarily because of the composition of the Sun which accounts for the bulk of the mass of the solar system.

12. A
NASA’s space probe Voyager 1 is thought to have left the heliosphere (region of space dominated by our Sun) in 2012, making the spacecraft the first humanmade object to reach interstellar space. Launched in September 1977, 16 days after its twin Voyager 2 (which is expected to reach interstellar space in either late 2019 or early 2020), Voyager 1 is part of a program to study the outer solar system and has been operational for more than 40 years. It still communicates with Earth; its signals take over 19 hours to reach our planet.

- S.A.

Us Magazine, The News International - 31st August, 2018

Famous feuds

quiz whiz

1. “I’ve had more fun with a tin of sardines.” Who is the target of this Liam Gallagher insult?
A. Robbie Williams
B. Chris Martin
C. Damon Albarn
D. Noel Gallagher

2. Which pop singer did Hilary Duff and Lindsay Lohan have a tiff over?
A. Justin Bieber
B. Justin Timberlake
C. Aaron Carter
D. Nick Carter

3. “You’re like twenty-two girls in one
And none of them know what they’re runnin’ from
Was it just too far to fall?
For a little paper doll”
Which of his exes is John Mayer reportedly singing about in his song ‘Paper Doll’?
A. Jessica Simpson
B. Jennifer Aniston
C. Katy Perry
D. Taylor Swift

4. Speaking of “obnoxious Barbie”, which animal is Taylor Swift associated with because of her many feuds?
A. Snake
B. Alligator
C. Fox
D. Bee

5. “You should never say bad things about the dead, you should only say good. Joan Crawford is dead. Good!” Who (allegedly) said this?
A. Judy Garland
B. Gretta Garbo
C. Jean Harlow
D. Bette Davis

6. Elizabeth Taylor famously caused a tabloid scandal by having an affair with and subsequently marrying which actress’s husband?
A. Eva Gardener
B. Debbie Reynolds
C. Audrey Hepburn
D. Katherine Hepburn

7. Which of these television co-stars did not get along in real life?
A. Lea Michele and Naya Rivera (Glee)
B. Charlie Sheen and Selma Blair (Anger Management)
C. David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson (The X-Files)
D. Shannen Doherty and Alyssa Milano (Charmed)

8. Which of these things did Chelsea Handler NOT say about Angelina Jolie?
A. “You’re evil and everyone knows it”
B. “She seems like a demon”
C. “[Pitt] married a f****** lunatic”
D. “She’s not a great beauty by any stretch of the imagination”

9. Vin Diesel famously had a feud with which of his Fast and Furious co-stars?
A. Tyrese Gibson
B. Ludacris
C. Dwayne Johnson
D. Sung Kang

10. Fawad Khan upset which actress at an award show in 2014, allegedly demanding to sit in her front-row seat next to the actress of his choice and threatening to leave otherwise?
A. Sultana Siddiqui
B. Bader Khalil
C. Bushra Ansari
D. Samina Peerzada

11. A few years ago, Shaan slammed Mawra Hocane after taking offence at her:
A. Support for an anti-Pakistani movie
B. Unprofessional behaviour
C. Revealing outfits
D. Endlessly posting photos and selfies on social media

12. Which actress did Meera say (in a since-deleted tweet) “doesn’t know how to act at all”?
A. Reema
B. Mehwish Hayat
C. Mahira Khan
D. Saba Qamar

*****

Answer

1. D
Liam Gallagher has never shied away from telling the world how he really feels about his peers. His many targets have included Robbie Williams (“a drama queen”), Chris Martin (“looks like a geography teacher”), and Damon Albarn (“boring”), leading to a string of feuds, but his favourite target remains his elder brother Noel. Rock and roll’s most legendary (and funniest) sibling rivalry has seen the Gallaghers trading barbs for decades, including the aforementioned 2009 Liam quote supposedly about his “a big mouth who calls himself a rock star” brother. In turn Noel has hit Liam with a few zingers himself, like the infamous “he’s like a man with a fork in a world of soup”.

2. C
Hilary Duff and Lindsay Lohan were two of the most prominent child actresses of the early ‘00s but ended up in a fairly public feud, and it was all because of Aaron Carter, who first dated Duff, then Lohan, then Duff again, and started a battle between the two young girls.

3. D
Best known for writing songs about her exes, Taylor Swift penned 2010’s ‘Dear John’ (allegedly) about John Mayer, who felt “humiliated” by the track and thought it was “cheap songwriting”. He in turn wrote 2013’s ‘Paper Doll’ (allegedly) in response.

4. A
Swift isn’t exactly the best loved celebrity in the world of music and has clashed with several other famouses, including Katy Perry and Calvin Harris, as well as her longstanding beef with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian (the latter posted a tweet supposedly referencing Taylor on National Snake Day), which have led to her online posts being spammed with the snake emoji.

5. D
The legendary feud between Bette Davis and Joan Crawford – a product of their Hollywood rivalry as well as their feelings for actor Franchot Tone, Bette’s unrequited love who Joan married – came to a head during the filming of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) and was also the subject of the first season of the anthology series, Feud (2017).

6. B
The actresses, who met as teens in the early 1950s, were very close friends. Debbie married Eddie Fisher. Elizabeth married Mike Todd, with Debbie serving as Elizabeth’s matron of honour and Eddie as Mike’s best man. Then Mike died in a plane crash. Eddie started having an affair with Elizabeth, eventually marrying her after leaving Debbie with whom he had two children, Carrie and Todd. The marriage didn’t last long.
Years later, the actresses reconciled after they ended up travelling on the same ship.

7. All of them!
Glee’s Lea Michele and Naya Rivera didn’t get along while making the show and, according to the latter, didn’t speak to each other at all during the final season.
Anger Management’s Selma Blair criticised Charlie Sheen for being a slacker; the latter then refused to work with her, threatening to quite if she wasn’t fired, which she was.
The X-Files David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson’s working relationship was complicated, and they went through times when they didn’t get along.
And Charmed’s Shannen Doherty left the show at least partly because of her issues with Alyssa Milano.

8. D
Chelsea Handler is clearly not a fan of Angelina Jolie and has made some scathing comments about her. The last one isn’t by her though; that, rather, is Donald Trump’s assessment of Angelina’s looks.

9. C
Apparently Vin Diesel and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson did not get along on the set of The Fate of the Furious (2016). Johnson hinted he had issues with a co-star, later revealed to be Diesel, on Instagram, writing “some [male co-stars] conduct themselves as stand up men and true professionals, while others don’t”. The beef, he eventually elaborated, was due to “fundamental difference in philosophies on how we approach moviemaking and collaborating”.

10. B
Bader Khalil, who was at the award show to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award, says she was sitting in the front row next to Sultana Siddiqui, when Fawad apparently demanded he wanted to sit next to Sultana or he’d leave. When asked to vacate her seat and go sit in the back, Bader left her award there and left the show.

11. A
Shaan called for a ban on Mawra Hocane for supporting Phantom (2015) after she tweeted about the controversial Bollywood film, leading Shaan to comment “should we ban the actress who supports an anti-Pakistan film?” #BanMawra soon caught on, and the actress then had to post a long defence online, stating, in part, that “a film’s content cannot challenge the dignity of my country as Pakistan is beyond a filmmaker’s opinion of it and its dignity is way more sacred for it to be questioned by a film”.

12. C
Meera isn’t the biggest fan of Mahira Khan. Speaking about working in Bollywood, Mahira once said that “The more clothes you wear, the more respect you're given. You don’t need to do an item number for respect here”. Meera may or may not have taken this as a dig at her. In a tweet that she later deleted, Meera wrote that “Mahira Khan doesn’t know how to act at all. Don’t waste time watching her movies and commercials”. Later, in a video, she said (in Urdu, roughly translated to English here) that “there are many beautiful actors and actresses in Pakistan, who do great work, and do better work than Mahira, so please stop promoting Mahira, because things shouldn’t be unfair for the other actors and actresses in the industry”.

- S.A.

Us Magazine, The News International - 27th July, 2018 *

Football fever

quiz whiz 

1. When did the first FIFA World Cup take place?
A. 1863
B. 1904
C. 1930
D. 1958

2. Which country won the inaugural edition of the FIFA World Cup?
A. Uruguay
B. Argentina
C. United States
D. Yugoslavia

3. Which country has won the football World Cup the most times?
A. England
B. Italy
C. Germany
D. Brazil

4. Who is the all-time top goal scorer at the World Cup?
A. Lionel Messi (Argentina)
B. Miroslav Klose (Germany)
C. Ronaldo (Brazil)
D. Pelé (Brazil)

5. Which country has scored the most World Cup goals?
A. Argentina
B. Germany
C. Brazil
D. Italy

6. How many times has the Pakistan national football team qualified for the FIFA World Cup?
A. 0
B. Are we going to pretend it’s anything but 0?
C. Let’s face it, it’s 0
D. 0! It’s 0!

7. The official ball for the 2018 World Cup, the Telstar 18, has been made in which country?
A. China
B. Russia
C. South Korea
D. Pakistan

8. The mascot for the 2018 tournament is named Zabivaka, which means “the one who scores” in Russian. Which animal is Zabivaka?
A. Bear
B. Fox
C. Dog
D. Wolf

9. What is the tagline for the 2018 tournament?
A. Where the stars align
B. Where the best shine
C. Where the talent competes
D. Where the world unites

10. The official song for the 2018 FIFA World Cup is ‘Live It Up’ by Puerto Rican singer Nicky Jam. Which famous artist appears on the song?
A. will.i.am
B. Will Smith
C. Will Young
D. William Hung

11. Which country has qualified for the first time for the World Cup this year?
A. Saudi Arabia
B. Egypt
C. Iceland
D. Panama

12. And which country has failed to qualify for the first time since 1958?
A. Italy
B. Netherlands
C. Cameroon
D. United States

*****

Answers
 
1. C
Football appears to have existed in some variation or the other since ancient times, with the Chinese game Cuju – the earliest known form of football – dating back to the 3rd or 2nd century B.C.
The first rules of the modern game were drawn up at Cambridge University in the 1840s, and standardized in 1863 with the formation of England’s Football Association, the oldest football association in the world.
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) was formed in 1904, and has its headquarters in Zürich, Switzerland.
Soccer was first included in the Olympic Games in 1908.
The first World Cup was held in 1904 and has taken place every four years since then, with the exception of 1942 and 1946 when it was not held because of the Second World War.

2. A 
Host nation Uruguay beat Argentina 4 goals to 2 in the 1930 FIFA World Cup final, becoming the first country to win the tournament. The United States finished in third place while Yugoslavia came in fourth.
Thirteen teams participated in the 1930 tournament which took place from 13 to 30 July in Uruguayan capital, Montevideo. The majority of the matches took place at the Estadio Centenario, which was built for the tournament.

3. D
Brazil has won the most titles, five (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002).
The current champion, Germany, has won four trophies (1954, 1974, 1990, 2014).
Italy has also won four (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006).
England has won the tournament once (1966).

4. B
Germany’s Miroslav Klose (who participated in the World Cup tournaments from 2002 to 2014) is the all-time top scorer, with 16 goals. He broke Brazil’s Ronaldo’s record of 15 goals (1998 to 2006).

5. B 
Germany has scored the most goals (224) and has also conceded the most goals (121).
The German team has also played the most World Cup matches (106), and appeared in the most finals (8), semi-finals (13), and quarter-finals (16).

6. [insert sad emoji here]

7. D 
The Telstar 18 balls have been produced by Forward Sports in Sialkot, Pakistan. The ball has six textured panels that are seamlessly glued together, and also has an embedded near-field communication chip.
Telstar 18 was designed by the company Adidas, with the ball’s name paying homage to Adidas’s first World Cup match ball, the Telstar (a combination of “television” and “star”), which was itself named after the Telstar communications satellite that it resembled.

8. D
Zabivaka is an anthropomorphic wolf with brown and white wool wearing a white t-shirt with blue short sleeves and red shorts, a nod to the national colours of the Russian team.

9. A 
“Where the stars align” is the official tagline of the 2018 World Cup, which is taking place in Russia this year from 14th June to 15th July.

10. B 
The official song for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, ‘Live It Up’, is by Puerto Rican singer Nicky Jam and features American rapper Will Smith and Kosovar singer Era Istrefi.
It isn’t very good.

11. C and D
Iceland (the smallest country in terms of population to reach the World Cup) and Panama have both qualified for the first time.

12. A 
Four-time champions Italy has not qualified for the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1958. Netherlands is missing the cup for the first time since 2002, and United States for the first time since 1986. And Cameroon, the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations winner, didn’t make it to the tournament either.

- S.A.

Us Magazine, The News International - 22nd June, 2018

Amazing anatomy

quiz whiz

1. Around how many cells are there in an average human body?
A. 88.9 thousand
B. 74.5 million
C. 18.4 billion
D. 37.2 trillion

2. How many bones are in the adult human body?
A. 148
B. 206
C. 317
D. 402

3. What is the longest human bone?
A. Humerus
B. Radius
C. Femur
D. Tibia

4. Approximately how much blood is there in an average human adult?
A. 5 litres
B. 10 litres
C. 15 litres
D. 20 litres

5. What is the strongest muscle in the human body?
A. Bicep (arm)
B. Gluteus maximus (hip)
C. Masseter (jaw)
D. Tongue

6. What is the largest human organ?
A. Liver
B. Skin
C. Stomach
D. Brain

7. How fast do fingernails typically grow?
A. 1mm per day
B. 1mm per week
C. 1mm per fortnight
D. 1mm per month

8. How much air do we breathe with each breath?
A. 50 ml
B. 100 ml
C. 500 ml
D. 1000 ml

9. How long is the small intestine?
A. 5 feet
B. 10 feet
C. 15 feet
D. 20 feet

10. Which internal organ can regenerate itself?
A. Kidney
B. Liver
C. Pancreas
D. Spleen

11. Which part of the brain controls emotions?
A. Cerebrum
B. Cerebellum
C. Brainstem
D. Hypothalamus

12. What is the most abundant element in the human body?
A. Nitrogen
B. Hydrogen
C. Oxygen
D. Carbon

*****

Answers

1. D
Estimating the number of cells in the human body clearly isn’t an easy or straightforward task, but researchers have estimated that the total number of cells that compose the average human adult is around 30 to 40 trillion, with one study putting the number at 37.2 trillion (3.72 × 10^13). The majority of these are red blood cells, which make up over 70 percent of the body in number.

2. B
206 bones make up the adult human skeleton, providing support and protecting delicate internal organs. Around 640 muscles facilitate the movement of this skeletal structure by contracting upon receiving a signal from the nervous system.

3. C
The femur – or thighbone – is the longest and strongest bone in the human body. It runs from around the hip to the knee, and is 48 centimetres long in an average adult male.
The shortest bone in the human body is the stapes, a stirrup-shaped bone in the middle ear, that is only about 3 millimetres long.

4. A
The volume of blood, of course, varies by the individual’s size and health, but there are around 4.7 to 5.5 litres of blood in an average human, around 55 percent of which is plasma while the rest is the cellular portion.
Blood carries oxygen to all the tissues in the body and takes away carbon dioxide. It also carries food materials and waste chemicals, and helps fight diseases.
The blood is pumped around the body by the heart in less than a minute. In an average lifespan, the human heart beats more than three billion times!

5. C
The muscle that can exert the most pressure is the masseter muscle, which opens and closes the mouth when you chew and can regularly apply as much as 200 pounds of force on the molars when biting and chewing.
The gluteus maximus is the largest muscle in the human body.
The tongue isn’t a single muscle but actually eight different muscles.

6. B
The largest organ of the human body is the skin. The largest internal organ is the liver.

7. B
Fingernails typically grow at an average rate of about 3.47 mm per month, which roughly comes down to 1 mm per week. Toenails grow much slower than fingernails, at an average rate of around 1.62 mm per month.

8. C
The average person breathes around 500 ml of air in 1 normal breath, inhaling and exhaling 7 or 8 litres of air per minute, or ~11,000 litres of air per day.

9. D
In humans, the small intestine is about 6 to 7 meters (20 to 23 feet) long, while the large intestine is about 1.5 meters (5 feet) long. The intestines facilitate digestion and the absorption of water and nutrients.

10. B
The liver is the only organ that can regenerate itself, which is why a living person can donate a part of their liver to another recipient; the portion that remains will regenerate itself into a whole liver again.

11. A
The cerebrum primarily performs functions related to touch, vision, hearing, speech, reasoning, learning, and emotions.
The cerebellum coordinates muscle movements.
The brainstem connects the cerebrum and cerebellum to the spinal cord and performs several autonomic functions.
The hypothalamus links the nervous system to the endocrine system.

12. C
Almost 99% of the mass of the human body is made up of six elements: oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus. Out of these elements, oxygen is the most abundant, making up about 65% of the body, followed by carbon (18.5), hydrogen (9.5), and nitrogen (3.2).
The adult human body is about 53% water, and because of this water content, it contains more oxygen by mass than any other element (but more hydrogen by atom-fraction - 62% - than any element).

- S.A.

Us Magazine, The News International - 15th June, 2018

Marvellous Marvel

quiz whiz 

1. Who founded the company that would eventually become Marvel Comics?
A. Martin Goodman
B. Stan Lee
C. Jack Kirby
D. Walt Disney

2. In what year was the aforementioned company originally started?
A. 1939
B. 1946
C. 1961
D. 1984

3. Who was the first Marvel superhero?
A. Captain America
B. Black Widow
C. Human Torch
D. Phantom Rider

4. Which of these superheroes was not an original member of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, the Avengers?
A. Iron Man
B. Thor
C. Captain America
D. Ant-Man

5. What is The Avengers famous battle cry?
A. Avengers Align!
B. Avengers Assemble!
C. Avengers Advance!
D. Avengers Avenge!

6. Who was the hero of Marvel’s first theatrical release?
A. Captain America
B. The Punisher
C. Iron Man
D. X-Men

7. How many films have there been in the Marvel Cinematic Universe so far?
A. 11
B. 14
C. 19
D. 23

8. The Avengers are trying to stop Thanos, the villain, from collecting all the infinity stones and gaining omnipotence in the new film, Avengers: Infinity War. How many infinity stones are there?
A. 4
B. 6
C. 8
D. 10

9. Marvel famously has post-credit sequences at the very end of its films. In the post-credit scene after Avengers Assemble, what are the Avengers eating?
A. Biryani
B. Falafel
C. Hummus
D. Shawarma
   
10. Who succeeded J.A.R.V.I.S. as Tony Stark’s AI personal assistant?
A. SIRI
B. FRIDAY
C. ULTRON
D. HAL

11. What is the name of Peter Quill’s ship?
A. Enterprise
B. Heart of Gold
C. Milano
D. Millennium Falcon

12. Had things gone differently, which of these actors would have portrayed Tony Stark/Iron Man, the role that eventually went to Robert Downey Jr.?
A. Tom Hanks
B. Tom Cruise
C. Tom Felton
D. Tom Hiddleston

*****

Answers

1. A
Martin Goodman (1908 – 1992), the publisher of pulp magazines, founded the company called Timely Publications that later became Marvel Comics. Marvel Entertainment was eventually acquired by The Walt Disney Company in 2009.

2. A
Marvel started as Timely Publications in 1939. By the early 1950s, the company was generally known as Atlas Comics. The Marvel branding began in 1961, the year the company launched several superhero titles created by the likes of Stan Lee (the long-running editor of Marvel Comics, and later its publisher and chairman), Jack Kirby, and Steve Ditko, among others.

3. C
Carl Burgos’ android superhero the Human Torch appeared in Timely’s first publication, Marvel Comics #1 (October 1939). The issue also included the first appearances of Bill Everett’s anti-hero Namor the Sub-Mariner.

4. D
The Avengers originally consisted of Ant-Man (who had become Giant-Man by issue #2), the Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, and the Wasp. Captain America was discovered trapped in ice in issue #4, and joined the group after he was revived.
In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the founding members Ant-Man and Wasp were cut from The Avengers (2012) because the film had too many characters and Ant-Man’s standalone movie had not yet been released.

5. B
The group’s battle cry is “Avengers Assemble!”.

6. A
Captain America – then a character of Timely Comics – was the titular hero of Captain America, a 1944 Republic black-and-white 15-part serial film (an episodic film that usually accompanied a longer movie) – the most expensive serial that Republic ever made – which was loosely based on the Marvel supersoldier, making it the first theatrical release connected to a Marvel character. The next theatrical release featuring a Marvel hero would not occur for more than 40 years.

7. C
Iron Man started the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2008, kicking off what would become the world’s biggest franchise which has collectively grossed over $15.5 billion at the global box office. Divided into three phases, the series has since seen a total of 19 films:
-    Phase One: Iron Man (2008), The Incredible Hulk (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), Thor (2011), Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), and Marvel’s The Avengers (2012)
-    Phase Two: Iron Man 3 (2013), Thor: The Dark World (2013), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), and Ant-Man (2015)
-    Phase Three: Captain America: Civil War (2016), Doctor Strange (2016), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Black Panther (2018), and Avengers: Infinity War (2018) (as well as the upcoming Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), Captain Marvel (2019), and an Untitled Avengers film (2019))

8. B
There are six Infinity Stones:
-    The Space Stone (blue)
-    The Reality Stone (red)
-    The Power Stone (purple)
-    The Mind Stone (yellow)
-    The Time Stone (green)
-    The Soul Stone (orange)
Whoever has all six gems gains immense power.

9. D
The Avengers are eating shawarma in the Avengers Assemble post-credit scene which was shot a day after the film’s global premiere. Captain America though isn’t eating in the scene because Chris Evans was filming Snowpiercer (2013) at the time and refused to shave off his beard.

10. B
FRIDAY – whose name might be an allusion to the term “girl Friday” – replaced J.A.R.V.I.S after the latter’s matrix was integrated with the Vibranium infused artificial body known as The Vision.

11. C
Peter Quill’s ship is The Milano, a customized M-ships that Quill used since he was ten years old for looting and piracy. The ship is named after his childhood crush Alyssa Milano.
In the original comics, Star-Lord’s ship was a sentient star called Aurora that was turned into a sentient spaceship by the Master of the Sun.

12. B
Years before Iron Man (2008) was made, the project was attached to many different stars and directors. At one point Tom Cruise was set to both star and produce the movie. By the time Marvel got the rights back in 2005, the actor had lost interest. Robert Downey Jr. was eventually cast in the role and went from being considered washed up to becoming one of Hollywood’s most beloved actors.

- S.A.

Us Magazine, The News International - 12th May, 2018

Fantastic flowers

quiz whiz 

1. How many species of flowering plants are there in the world?
A. 369
B. 3,690
C. 36,900
D. 369,000

2. What is the world’s largest flower?
A. Lotus
B. Rafflesia
C. Posidonia
D. Sunflower

3. Which of these is not a part of a flower?
A. Stamen
B. Pistil
C. Stylus
D. Ovary

4. Which flower is known as the King of Flowers?
A. Jasmine
B. Rose
C. Tulip
D. Peony

5. What is the national flower of Pakistan?
A. Jasmine
B. Rose
C. Tulip
D. Peony

6. Which of these is *not* one of the many names for the cornflower?
A. Bachelor’s button
B. Bluebell
C. Hurtsickle
D. Gogglebuster

7. Which of these flowers is not edible?
A. Zinnia
B. Hibiscus
C. Tulip
D. Buttercup

8. How many petals does a tulip typically have?
A. 1
B. 3
C. 6
D. 12

9. What does Prince Charles receive as payment of rent for his lands on the Isles of Scilly?
A. A single daffodil
B. A dozen carnations
C. A bunch of orchids
D. A bouquet of geraniums

10. Claude Monet famously created paintings of which flowers?
A. Irises
B. Sunflowers
C. Dahlias
D. Water Lilies

11. William Wordsworth’s well-known poem ‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud’ was inspired by which flowers?
A. Gardenias
B. Daffodils
C. Daisies
D. Cosmos

12. In L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900), the odour of which blossoms makes Dorothy sleepy?
A. Pansies
B. Peonies
C. Poppies
D. Petunias

*****

Answers:

1. D
There are estimated to be about 369,000 known flowering plant species in the world. Flowering plants make up the bulk of the world’s vegetation, and fall into two major groups: dicotyledons (which have two embryonic leaves in their seeds and their regular leaves have a network of veins, like roses and daisies, for example) and monocotyledons (which have a single seed leaf and their normal leaves mostly have parallel veins, like daffodils, tulips, and lilies).

2. B
The Rafflesia arnoldii – a parasitic flowering plant found in the rainforests of Indonesia – produces the world’s largest blooms. The flower can have a diameter of around 3 feet – the largest ever recorded is thought to be 3.4 feet – and can weigh up to 11 kilograms. It is one of the world’s rarest flowers, and also among the smelliest, with a repulsive odour similar to that of rotting flesh (a means of attracting insects for pollination) which has earned it the nickname “corpse flower”.

3. C
Flowers are the reproductive parts of the plant that produce fruits and seeds.
The stamens are the male parts that produce pollen.
The pistils (or carpels) are the female parts which include the ovary, style (not stylus), and stigma.

4. D
One of the longest-used flowers in Eastern culture, the beautiful peony is considered the King of Flowers, particularly in Asian countries like Japan and China.
The rose is considered the Queen of Flowers.

5. A
Jasminum officinale (or chambeli) is the national flower of Pakistan.
The lovely, white, fragrant jasmine is not only popular in our gardens but is also valued in several other regions around the world. Jasminum sambac (or motiya) is the national flower of Indonesia and Philippines, and is also a popular flower in Hawaii.

6. B
The cornflower – which is not, as its name might suggest, the flower of the corn plant, but the blossom of a beneficial weed in cornfields – is also known by several other names, including
bluecup, blue blob, blue bonnet, cornbottle, boutonierre flower, hurtsickle, and gogglebuster.
Bluebells, on the other hand, are blue bell-reminiscent flowers of the Hyacinthoides plants.

7. D
Despite its appetizing name, the buttercup is inedible. Buttercups are toxic to animals and are poisonous when eaten, although their acrid taste generally prevents that from happening.  Handling the plants can also cause skin issues.
Zinnias (as garnish), hibiscuses (in beverages and as garnish), and tulips (petals as garnish) are edible.

8. B
Tulips have three petals and three sepals, but since the sepals are very similar in size and shape to the petals, tulips appear to have six petals.

9. A
The heir apparent to the British throne, Prince Charles, is paid one daffodil per year as rent for his lands on the Isles of Scilly, off the coast of Cornwall. The Prince’s Duchy of Cornwall estate leases over 100 acres of land on the islands of Bryher, St Mary’s, St Agnes, and St Martin’s for just a daffodil a year.

10. D
Oscar-Claude Monet’s (1840 – 1926) Water Lilies series – oil on canvas paintings that depict the artist’s flower garden at his home in Giverny – is one of the most famous painting series in the history of art. The father of French Impressionist painting began painting the water lilies in 1899 in a series that he worked on for the next 20 years of his life.

11. B
“I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodils…”
English Romantic poet William Wordsworth (1770 – 1850) was inspired by an event in 1802 – in which Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy came across a "long belt" of daffodils – to write the poem at some point between 1804 and 1807. It was first published in 1807 in Poems in Two Volumes, and a revised version was published in 1815.

12. C
“They now came upon more and more of the big scarlet flowers until they found themselves in the midst of a great meadow carpeted with nothing but poppies. Now, in the magical Land of Oz, it is a well known fact that when there are many of these flowers together their odor and fragrance is so strong and so powerful, that anyone who breathes it in instantly begins to fall asleep, and if the sleeper is not carried away from the deadly scent of the blossoms, they sleep on and on forever and ever until their dying day. But Dorothy, just a little girl from Kansas, did not know this, nor could she get away from the bright red flowers that were everywhere about; so presently as she walked on her eyes grew very heavy, and soon she felt she must sit down to rest and to even sleep.” – The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Dorothy likewise falls asleep in a poppy field in the film adaptation(s) of the novel.

- S.A.

Us Magazine, The News International - 4th May, 2018

Fabulous fauna

quiz whiz

1. What is the collective noun for a group of pandas?
A. Embarrassment
B. Implausibility
C. Murder
D. Pandemonium

2. How many toes does a cat normally have?
A. 16
B. 18
C. 20
D. 22

3. What is the average life expectancy of a goat?
A. 3 to 5 months
B. 4 to 6 years
C. 8 to 10 years
D. 15 to 18 years

4. How many tigers remain in the world?
A. 390,000
B. 39,000
C. 3,900
D. 390

5. What is a male duck called?
A. Bruno
B. Drake
C. Kendrick
D. Prince

6. What colour is a polar bear’s skin?
A. White
B. Yellow
C. Green
D. Black

7. What sound do elephants make?
A. Trumpet
B. Toot
C. Honk
D. Howl

8. What is the normal canine gestation period?
A. 22 days
B. 63 days
C. 280 days
D. 640 days

9. What is the young of a kangaroo called?
A. Joey
B. Chandler
C. Ross
D. Gunther

10. Which mammal lays eggs?
A. Orca
B. Penguin
C. Duck-billed platypus
D. Bat

11. Which of these four animals runs the fastest?
A. Horse
B. Giraffe
C. Bison 
D. Ostrich

12. How many hearts does an octopus have?
A. 1
B. 2
C. 3
D. 4

*****

Answers

1. A
A group of pandas is called an embarrassment, bamboo, or cupboard of pandas.
Shrewdness is the collective noun for a group of apes.
Murder is a group of crows.
And a group of parrots is called a pandemonium!

2. B
Normal cats have 18 toes – five on each front paw and four on each hind paw.
In rare cases, however, cats can have more toes: polydactyl cats have a congenital physical anomaly and may have as many as eight digits on their fore or hind paws or, less commonly, on both sets of paws.

3. D
While life expectancy differs by type and subspecies, a goat’s natural life span is thought to be between 15 and 18 years. However, goats are slaughtered at ages as young as only 3 to 5 months old, and are often slaughtered between 6 months to a year.

4. C
While the exact number of tigers is unknown, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), there are at least 3,890 tigers in the wild as of 2016, more than 2,200 of which are in India. It is estimated that there were over 100,000 tigers in the wild at the start of the 20th century, but several subspecies of the big cat have since been brought to the brink of extinction.
In comparison, there are 7.6 billion humans in the world.

5. B
A male duck is called a drake. A female duck is called … a duck.

6. D
A polar bear’s skin is actually black. Baby polar bears have pink skin which turns black as they grow older.
Their fur is … not white. It’s clear, colourless, translucent, and hollow. It reflects light and makes the bear look white.
Polar bears that eat a lot of seals can be yellowish because of the seal oils accumulated in the fur.
Polar bears that live in warmer climates can have algae growing inside their hair, which can make them look green.

7. A
Elephants trumpet when they are excited, angry, upset, or playful by pushing air through their trunk.

8. B
A dog’s gestation period is between 58 to 68 days, usually about 63 days.
A rat’s gestation period is normally 22 days, but can be between 21 to 23 days. The average length of human pregnancy is 280 days. Elephants have the longest gestation period of all mammals, carrying their young for 640 to 660 days – that’s nearly two years! – before giving birth.

9. A
A baby kangaroo is called a joey.
Male kangaroos are called bucks, boomers, jacks, or old men. Female kangaroos are does, flyers, or jills. A group of kangaroos is a flock, herd, mob, or troop.

10. C
The duck-billed platypus is one of only two egg-laying mammals (the other being the echidna or spiny anteater).
Orca and bats are mammals that give birth to their babies instead of laying eggs. Penguin are birds that lay eggs.

11. D
The largest bird in the world, the ostrich is a very impressive runner. Ostriches can sprint at speeds of up to 72 km/h (45 mph) on average, with a peak 96.6 km/h (60 mph) during short periods, making them the fastest animal on two legs.
A horse gallops at 40 – 48 km/h. Bison can move at speeds of up to 56 km/h. And a giraffe can sprint at 55 – 60 km/hr.

12. C
An octopus has three hearts – two pump blood to the gills while a third circulates it to the rest of the body.
What’s even more peculiar though is that an octopus effectively has nine brains. Its highly complex nervous system includes a central brain and a neural structure at the base of each of its eight arms which controls movement.

- S.A.

Us Magazine, The News International - 16th March, 2018 *

Silver screen scrutiny

quiz whiz

Oscars

1. The highest number of Academy Awards won by an individual is 22, and only one person in history has achieved this feat. But who is that person?

A. Composer Alan Menken

B. Producer Walt Disney

C. Costume designer Edith Head

D. Art director Cedric Gibbons

2. Who has won the most acting Academy Awards?

A. Katharine Hepburn

B. Meryl Streep

C. Jack Nicholson

D. Daniel Day Lewis

3. Which of these actors have never been nominated for an Oscar?

A. Marilyn Monroe

B. Jeff Daniels

C. Steve Buscemi

D. Emily Blunt

4. Three of these films hold the record for the most awards won by a single film (11). Which one of these films hasn’t won the most Oscars of all time?

A. Ben-Hur

B. Titanic

C. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

D. Avatar

5. Which of these actors is one of only 12 people to have won all four major annual American entertainment awards – Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards (EGOT) – in a competitive, individual category?

A. Katharine Hepburn

B. Meryl Streep

C. Whoopi Goldberg

D. Anne Hathaway

6. If a recipient wanted to sell their Oscar, how much would they get for the award?

A. $1

B. $100

C. $1,000

D. $10,000

Milestones

7. In what year was the first full-length feature film ever released?

A. 1886

B. 1896

C. 1906

D. 1916

8. What was the first talkie ever made?

A. Alam Ara

B. The Jazz Singer

C. Singin’ in the Rain

D. The Wizard of Oz

9. Which movie was the first film made in colour?

A. The Phantom of the Opera

B. Ben-Hur

C. The Three Musketeers

D. Cupid Angling

10. What is the highest grossing film of all time?

A. Titanic

B. Avatar

C. Star Wars: The Force Awakens

D. Jurassic World

11. What is the highest grossing film franchise of all time?

A. Marvel Cinematic Universe

B. DC Extended Universe

C. James Bond

D. Star Wars

12. Who is the highest grossing actor of all time, based on the box office total of their films?

A. Scarlett Johansson

B. Harrison Ford

C. Samuel L. Jackson

D. Johnny Depp

*****

Answers:

1. B

American animation pioneer Walt Disney holds the record for most Academy Awards earned by an individual, having won 22 Oscars from a record 59 nominations. His first wins came in 1932 when he received the Honorary Academy Award for the creation of Mickey Mouse and won the Academy Award for Best Short Subject (Cartoon) for the film Flowers and Trees. Most of his wins came in the Best Short Subject (Cartoon) category, although he was also triumphant in other categories, including Best Short Subject (Two-reel) and Best Documentary (Short Subject).

Composer Alan Menken holds the record for the most competitive awards won by a person who is still living (8). Costume designer Edith Head is the recipient of the most awards won by a woman (8). And art director Cedric Gibbons, who designed the Oscar statuette, won 11 awards out of a total of 39 nominations.

2. A

Katharine Hepburn won four awards – a record for any performer – all for Best Actress. She won for her performances in the films Morning Glory (1933), Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967), The Lion in Winter (1968) (shared with Barbra Streisand for Funny Girl), and On Golden Pond (1981).

3. A, B, C, and D

Despite their fame and/or acclaim, none of these actors have ever received an Oscar nomination.

4. D

Avatar (2009) was nominated for nine Academy Awards and won three – for Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, and Best Visual Effects.

5. C

Whoopi Goldberg is one of the few entertainers to have won an Emmy Award, a Grammy Award, an Oscar, and a Tony Award.

6. A

The winners and their heirs cannot sell the Oscar statuettes without first offering to sell them back to the Academy for US$1.

7. C

The 1906 Australian silent film The Story of the Kelly Gang, which followed the exploits of 19th-century outlaw Ned Kelly and his gang, is believed to be the world's first full-length narrative feature film. With an estimated budget of between £400 and £1,000, the film took six months to make, had a running time of more than an hour, and was a success upon its release, making about £25,000.

8. B

The Jazz Singer (1927), starring Al Jolson and directed by Alan Crosland, was the first feature film originally presented as a talkie. The film was based on a play of the same name by Samson Raphaelson, and was a massive box office success.

1931’s Alam Ara (The Ornament of the World), starring Master Vithal and Zubeida and directed by Ardeshir Irani, was the first Indian film with sound.

9. D

While opinions differ on this matter, the now-lost Cupid Angling (1918), the only feature film photographed using the Douglass Natural Color process, is widely considered to be the first movie made in colour.

10. B

With a box office gross of over $2.787 billion, James Cameron’s Avatar (2009) is the world’s highest grossing movie of all time. 1997’s Titanic ($2,187), 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($2,068 billion), and 2015’s Jurassic World ($1,671 billion) are the second, third, and fourth highest grossing films respectively.   

11. A

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has made over $14 billion. Star Wars ($8.8 billion), James Bond ($7 billion), and DC Extended Universe ($3.7 billion) are at the second, fourth, and twelfth place respectively.

12. C

Samuel L. Jackson’s (#1) films have earned $5.149 billion. Harrison Ford’s (#2) movies have grossed $4,963, while Johnny Depp’s (#13) films have made ($3.644 billion).

Scarlett Johansson is the highest earning female performer with a total of $3.674 billion.

- S.A.

Us Magazine, The News - 9th March, 2018