From: esquel@sommarskog.se   
      
   This quiz is over, and the winner this time is Mark Brader, well done!   
   Everyone else of us are obliged to hold Mark in awe for the next   
   24 hours!   
      
   Here is the scoreboard:   
      
            1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10 11 12   
            =====================================   
   Mark B   1  -  -  -  1  -  1  1  1  -  1  -  6   
   Joshua K 1  -  -  -  1  -  1  -  1  -  1  -  5   
   Dan T    1  -  -  -  -  1  1  -  -  -  1  -  4   
   Pete G   1  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  1  -  1  -  3   
      
      
   Yes, there were a bit too many stumpers this time. Here are the correct   
   answers:   
      
   > 1. Baloo, Bagheera and King Louie are characters from which popular movie   
   >    from the 1960s?   
      
   The Jungle Book   
      
   > 2. How many women served as head of state of Russia in the 18th century?   
      
   Four.   
      
   Catherine I, Anna, Elizabeth and Catherine II (the Great).   
      
   In contrast there were only three men: Peter I (the Great), Peter III   
   and Paul. There were also two boys: Peter II (died at 15 at his planned   
   wedding day) and Ivan VI (toppled away from power already as an infant.)   
      
   > 3. If you find yourself in Kashgar, in the western fringes of which   
   >    country are you?   
      
   People's Republic of China   
      
   From here it is 204 km as the crow flies to the tri-point with China,   
   Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan and that is almost as west you can get in   
   China.   
      
   > 4. Roja Stona won gold in the Olympics, but he has now signed a contract   
   >    for a team in another sport. Name any of the two sports. Be   
   >    sufficiently specific.   
      
   Javelin and American football.   
      
   It seems that I botched his name. The first name is Rojé, not Roja.   
      
   Also, from Swedish newspapers I got the impression that he had been   
   signed with an NFL team. Wikipedia says "In December 2024, he was   
   announced as joining the NFL's International Player Pathway scheme."   
      
   You can trust Swedish people not to know too much about American football.   
      
   > 5. Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham has been in the news recently. Why?   
      
   This is the rebel army that first took Aleppo and eventually Damaskus   
   and forced Bashar al'Assad to flee Syria.   
      
   Since the question asked for "why" and not "who", I had no problems   
   with approving "New leader" as if it was a person. On the other hand   
   "leader of Syrian rebels" left out the important point why they were   
   in the news at all.   
      
   > 6. Old Prussian is an extinct language. Name any of the languages existing   
   >    today that it is most closely related to.   
      
   Lithuanian and Latvian.   
      
   That is, it was a language in the Baltic group of the Indo-European   
   languages.   
      
   > 7. The Finnish city of Rovaniemi prouds itself to be the home of   
   >    which mythical figure?   
      
   Santa Claus.   
      
   I approved of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, although I could not find   
   any direct reference to red-nosed reindeers in Rovaniemi. But logically,   
   where Santa lives, Rudolph lives.   
      
   And, yes, there are more places that makes the claim to be home of   
   Santa. And since Patara is in ruins, it has difficult to tell the   
   others to be quiet.   
      
   >  8. The American English word "rutabaga" origins from which language?   
      
   Swedish.   
      
   I actually learnt this the same day I wrote the quiz. The normal word   
   in Swedish is "kålrot", but there are many dialectal names, and   
   "rutabaga" is derived from one of them. (It's from a different part of   
   the country than me, and I had never heard it before.)   
      
   In British English the name is apparently "Swedish turnip" or just   
   "swede". I also learnt that the rutabaga was achieved by breeding   
   turnip and cabbage, and that happened in Sweden in the 17th century.   
   Although, it may be that it happened in what is Finland today.   
      
   > 9. Which artist turned the summer of 2024 into a brat summer?   
      
   Charli XCX   
      
   You would have to live under a rock not to hear about her and the "Brat"   
   album. No, I have not heard it, only heard about it.   
      
   > 10. A month or two back, which world leader came to assistance on a   
   >    flight when they asked if there was a doctor on board?   
      
   Ursula von der Leyen, head of the European Commission.   
      
   She is a doctor by profession.   
      
   > 11. In computing, what does the abbreviation VPN stand for?   
      
   Virtual Private Network   
      
   > 12. What famous department store are these two pictures from? There is   
   >    of the exterior, and one from the interior you see as might you   
   >    step in from the street.   
      
   Fortnum & Mason   
      
   Definitely my favourite spot in London. A nice place to buy tea,   
   marmalade and biscuits. I should probably have added something about   
   that to the question. Or refrained from cutting down the second picture,   
   which in its full format sports baskets with F&M on it. There is   
   still a smaller one visible in the background to the right.   
      
   --- SoupGate-DOS v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)