Answers for January 2005

WINNER this month is –

Daniel Baxter

Question 1

What do Tasmanian Devils eat?

Answer

Roadkill

Also on the menu:

  • Breakfast lunch and dinner.
  • Trees, Explosives hidden in food, Rabbit shaped chewing gum, …..
  • http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/wildlife/mammals/devil_faq.html says “What is normally eaten generally reflects what is available” which must indeed be true, because if something is not available then you cannot eat it.
  • Birds, fish, moths, tadpoles, frogs, reptiles, wallabies, echidnas, platypus, wombats, or anything else that they might find. They do have preferences, notably wombat.
  • “He’ll eat grass and leaves and berries, and any kind of meat” / “There isn’t a thing he couldn’t, or wouldn’t try to eat.” Don Spencer. God is he great. I have the Australian Animal Songs album.
  • A no-brainer. They eat food.
  • Angel food cakes
  • Angels Food Cake which, in Tassie, is made from potato skins and road kill and is thus considered diabolical by marsupials of good taste.
  • any baby dinosaur they can find ?
  • Any meat products that they can get their hands…. errr, paws, on.
  • Anything and everything – according to Loony Tunes cartoons.
  • anything and everything..facial tumor disease is a worry as is introduction of V vulpes. the loss of devils may open up a niche for V vulpes.
  • Anything that is more bad tempered than them.
  • Anything they can get ahold of. They’re very vicious little critters. Though someone’s going to say “Opium” after last week’s quiz, so it may as well be me eh?
  • Carrion, dead animals etc that they find in the forest at night. I’ve got a bit of one here, I think it was a cow.
  • Cheese. “Mainland” brand, of course. With opium.
  • devil food cake, devilled ham, devilled eggs, devilled dates, devilled fruit, devilled lobster – the list just goes on and on…
  • Each other. Tasmanians.
  • Everything—including Tasmanian Angels.
  • How should I know, we don’t have those in Britain [Why don’t you try importing cane toads. They would be fun to shoot at]
  • If you are referring to the sports team, probably protein bars and nutri-grain
  • Meat – Any kind, preferably pre-deceased
  • Meat, meat and more meat … alive, sleeping (unsportsmanlike), dead…wallabies, wombats, birds, cows, fish, possum.
  • Meat, preferably carrion (you don’t want to know what parts of a dead cow are eaten!). Bugs and Daffy, however, are the meateater’s goal taught to every young devil. And then there’s the so-called mystery of the extinct thylacines……
  • More importantly, what don’t they eat?
  • munchkins
  • Nice doggie – let go of my arm now. . . .
  • Obviously they eat tasmanians. This is why both are extinct.
  • Other Tasmanian Devils.
  • Roadkill and other carcasses.
  • Roots and leaves and, when they get REALLY hungry, other Tasmanian Devils
  • Tasmanian Angels
  • Tasmanian devils eat wallabies, kangaroo rats, mice, and poisonous snakes. Basically anything, living or dead, they can find.
  • Tassie Devils are scavengers and will chew on much larger dead animals. I sympathise more with the Wombat who eats roots and leaves.
  • The most famous Tasmanian devil – Errol Flynn – ate many things. To this day, a multitude of Tasmanians follow his example.
  • These little devils eat dead stuff, carrion, like road kill etc.
  • They are carnivorous, but are scavengers and will eat whatever is available.
  • They tend to scavenge for dead stuff (Carrion) but I’ve heard they are keen to get a bite of Brian Harradine]
  • Thought they were extinct? The existing population probably ate aboriginals.
  • trees and small furry cartoon creatures
  • Unlike other cute Australian fauna, the Tassie Devil instead elects to spend its time chewing on dead carcasses. It has been said that Tasmanian Devils could consume the entirety of an animal – skin, meat, bones and all.
  • Wabbits- weally wancid wabbits.
  • welsh corgis??
  • What don’t they eat? Tassie Devils will eat anything that’s dead enough or slow enough or stupid enough to hold still long enough for them to catch it.
  • Whatever they like! But mostly dead things made of meat, fur and bones… and generally there aren’t many leftovers.
  • Why, Tasmanian Devil’s Food Cake, of course.

Question 2

The big stained glass window of Gloucester Cathedral was dismantled during World War II for safe storage, but when reassembly began in 1945 it was found that all the little sticky paper labels that identified the glass pieces had fallen off. How was the window reassembled?

Answer

Someone found a pre-war picture postcard of it. Pity really, as there could have been some interesting scenes depicted if people had to imagine how to reconstruct it. The cathedral is an architectural masterpiece with more history than you can shake a stick at – look at http://www.britannia.com/church/studies/gloscath.html

Other Answers

  • If nobody could remember what it looked like what difference would it make how it was reassembled ?
  • An artist used the pieces to make a completely different picture in stained glass and it was given some sort of poignant religious caption. [because people said “jesus christ!” when they saw it]
  • A man had a dream in which he realised that the sticky labels were on the OTHER SIDE of the glass pieces.
  • Badly, which is why no-one is really sure if it depicts a saint giving a benediction or a rugby scrum. Apparently there is one monk playing golf or bandy ball or with himself.. no-one is really sure.
  • By children who were told it was a game. Involving paste.
  • By hand, of course. For heaven’s sake, how else could it be reassembled in 1945? By industrial robots? Maypole dancers? Doris Stokes? God? Tch, you do ask some silly questions, Dr. Bob!
  • By luck
  • By melting it down and starting again
  • By memory
  • By ocelot.
  • By the Hand Of God, by a divine miracle!
  • Carefully
  • From memory… and when that failed a gigantic jigsaw puzzle had to be solved – and an admirable effort too, except for the bearded lady and the angel with a head like a donkey… and that darn bit of sky that just doesn’t fit! Of course, there are those that say that Harry Potter just flicked his wand and uttered the words ‘stainus windowus repairum’ whilst running through the cloisters but I’m too much of a sceptic to believe that…. 🙂
  • From photographs.
  • I believe they had great difficulty right up until the 1990’s when some bright spark thought too get a bunch of Iranian students over. It worked a treat, and six months later it was re-dedicated – the Khomeini window.
  • Imperfectly! Only 60 – 70% is the original glass.
  • Incorrectly
  • Incorrectly.
  • Indecisively
  • It was probably reassembled the same way any stained glass window is assembled – with a soldering iron and lots of patience. Now, to line up all the pieces again…hmmm…they laid them all on the floor, and made a big jigsaw puzzle.
  • It was still in one piece
  • Jigsaw puzzlers were given the opportunity to show that they had a redeeming virtue.
  • Just like a big jigsaw puzzle. They looked at a photograph of the window and worked from there.
  • Like a jigsaw puzzle
  • Like a jigsaw puzzle? Then again, isn’t it only now that they’ve managed to fit the whole thing back together again? At least they’re managing a slightly better job than with Humpty Dumpty…
  • Like a jigsaw. But surely they had pictures of what it was like before. Oh I see, HOW did they do it? Well slowly and carefully with much wringing of hands and gnashing of teeth.
  • Logic.
  • Memory
  • Not too carefully evidently. Pretend I supplied a link to a website that had a stained glass Elvis here.
  • Nothing magical about this. They just pottered around until they got it right.
  • Off the lid of the jigsaw box.
  • One piece at a time, Dr. Bob, just as all puzzles are. Time, money, scaffolding, lead, q-tips and obsessed glazing artisans with a penchant for puzzles.
  • One piece at a time, very carefully.
  • Painstakingly.
  • Pieces selected at random from a bag. (Hey, it worked for Arthur Dent)
  • Slowly.
  • The people putting it back, prayed to God for guidance, the next day, it was all back together and they could see it was good!
  • They brought in a “glass psychic” who asked each piece of glass where it belonged in the grand scheme of things.
  • They called in the National League of Jigsaw Puzzle Enthusiasts.
  • They employed an out-of-work Spanish onion-seller, one Sr. S Dali to complete the reconstruction. Where, hitherto, the window had shown “The Good Shepherd Tending His Flock”, it now shows “The Gold Leopard Bending His Clock”. As it is an Anglican cathedral (and is thus widely unattended), no one noticed this until 2002.
  • They made a timber frame the exact size of the old window, threw all the glass pieces into the frame, set it on top of an old spin drier, switched on the drier and let chaos theory have it’s head.
  • They put the window back together.
  • They reassembled it?
  • They used the da vinci code – with minimal success
  • Trial and error. It is works with nature, its good enough for the church.
  • Very badly
  • Very carefully
  • With difficulty
  • With Elmer’s Glue-All and a wing and a prayer.
  • With much hilarity and over several bottles of Amberley
  • Working Hard

Question 3

What most impressed Capt Fitzroy about the young Charles Darwin when the latter applied to join the voyage of the Beagle?

Answer

His nose

Other Body Parts

  • http://www.aboutdarwin.com/voyage/voyage02.html. Darwin wrote: “Afterwards on becoming very intimate with Fitz-Roy, I heard that I had run a very narrow risk of being rejected, on account of the shape of my nose!” One wonders what other parts of the body were discussed when they became “very intimate”.
  • The fact that he had an international award for utter stupidity named after him. Captain Fitzroy only had a defunct Australian football club named after him, so he was a bit envious.
  • 40 gig ipod
  • Beetles
  • Censored – Capt Fitzroy’s sexual proclivities wavered like a beagle in the wind.
  • Charles had just finished his gap year and was willing to do ” work experience “.
  • Darwin had a broad squat nose. Fitzroy, a student of physiognomy, determined from this that his character and determination were unlikely to allow him to cope with the rigours of the journey. He nearly missed out on the journey as a result.
  • Darwin wrote that Fitzroy “doubted whether anyone with my nose could possess sufficient energy and determination for the voyage.” So whoever went would not be allowed to take Darwin’s nose with him.
  • Fitzroy thought young, smooth-skinned, fresh-faced, innocent Chas was just the right sort of chappie for the Beagle’s barrel.
  • Fitzroy was crazy about ministers.
  • Good social standing and, negatively, Darwins nose.
  • He could spell Galapagos
  • He didn’t want any pay
  • He offered to pay for himself.
  • He thought Charles had a cute butt and since Fitzroy was gay, thought he might get lucky on the voyage.
  • He was a young male
  • He was able to show how a dog can evolve into a boat.
  • He was good with dogs.
  • He was reading about Grettir, in the original Icelandic while walking his pet Tasmanian Devil.
  • He was wearing a tee-shirt that said “Screw The Creationists!”
  • He went roo shooting at Bathurst N.S.W. Australia. (this is true, look it up)
  • Hi upright stance.
  • His ability to peel bananas with his feet.
  • His charming facial hair.. Captain Fitzroy always had a soft spot for a strapping, fit, firm buttocked young lad with well developed sideburns.
  • His Dad had lots of money
  • His enthusiasm for natural history
  • His eyebrows.
  • His eyelashes?
  • His frank zappa singles collection.
  • His hair
  • His hair style
  • His handwriting?
  • His hat.
  • His inordinate fondness for beetles.
  • His jeans.
  • His konk, snoz, hooter Fitzroy thought young Charlie had a “lazy nose”…Jacobs organ not withstanding. You know what “they” say about men with big noses … we have bigger hankies.
  • His legs.
  • His love of dogs
  • His nose, and it apparently didn’t impress him positively as any idiot could tell it wasn’t the nose of a man of character. (Answered whilst pondering the evolutionary impact of character and noses?). Seems they also differed on religion.
  • His personality
  • His total inaptitude for the sea and the navy.
  • His towering height and great seaman’s personality, of course.
  • His way with earthworms
  • His religious convictions [One wonders what the offences were]
  • The size of his protractor. [Yes, as people tend to get only two or three degrees at most, I suppose anyone with 180 of them would be very impressive]
  • That another young bloke’s wife was preggers (I think). Can’t remember the name; lovely bloke though. He was predisposed (under the thumb) hence recommended the young Charles Darwin to Captain Fitzroy, as the next best naturalist to join the voyage to the Beagle.
  • That Darwin was the first recruit not to make fun of the captain’s last name.
  • That he was a gentleman with means to pay for his meals, as the RN wouldn’t cough up the funding for an extra on the trip (too much had been spent on the rum barrels). Of course, it also helped that Charles was considered a social and intellectual equal by Capt Fitzroy, but at the end of the day it’s money that counts in scientific endeavours, even for the most altruistic – and goverments can’t be relied on for all of it.
  • That he was named after an as yet undiscovered hell hole. Actually, can you be a hell hole if you are totally submerged eight months of the year?
  • That he, alone of all the crew and passengers, knew how to pronounce Galapagos. Had it been left to Fitzroy, the expedition would have ended up in Gullargambone.
  • That sexy beard!
  • The fact that his surname was a name of a city. You should never trust someone named after a town. He decided to keep him close by, so he could keep an eye on him. Even if the town did not exist yet. Hang on…. Also, he didn’t have the plague.
  • The shape of Darwin’s nose–FitzRoy was into physiognomy, the pseudoscience of judging personality by the shape of faces (similar to the pseudoscience of phrenology).
  • Well he was unimpressed by Charles’ nose to start with. But probably it was a religious thing. He wanted a “gentleman” to talk to at table. About God and stuff like that. Darwin would be suitable as they both believed in the bible and God’s creation of the world. Later, the conversations were probably not so amicable.

Question 4

What common attribute (other than being Greek) qualified the Greek entrants in the 1904 Olympic Marathon?

Wrong Answer:

They had to be able to run the marathon

Answer

They had to live in the USA because the Greek Govt could not afford to send anyone over. In fact, none of them had ever run before. The winner was found to have accepted a lift in a car for part of the way and was disqualified. The eventual winner not only ran the whole race – which had one water stop in the 26 miles – but did so with regular intakes of brandy and strychnine as he ran. Ah those were the days. If only the USA could conduct its invasion of other countries like this – oh I see that they do …

Even More Correct, and Succinct, Answer:

A penis

Other Answers:

  • http://www.marathonandbeyond.com/choices/duggan.html
  • A small birthmark on their left bum cheek in the shape of a maple leaf. No reason for this was provided.
  • All had a minimum of 2 legs.
  • All were blokes. No bloody sheilas. A good thing, too. Ban sheilas from all Olympics, I say, in fact from all sports. I mean, really, who wants to watch clumsy Cathy Freeman in the 400 or dogpaddler Brooke Hanson in the swimming when one could watch lithe Mike Tyson box or see those fair-dinkum WWF Adonis blokes wrestle? If the Greeks are correct that one’s body is a temple then surely Tyson is a soaring cathedral, albeit Gothic, and poor Brooke is merely a small wedding chapel in Vegas. Or have I somehow got this all terribly wrong…
  • All wore the traditional greek costume with the tights and the short skirts. Chaos ensued when the english team quit running and attempted to play what they later claimed was an impromptu match of five a side rugby.
  • Egos the size of…..
  • Evolution had made them male. They also were reminded that they were not to accept lifts from strangers [But one of the other runners did!], beware of eating strange food, and they had to have to dress up in traditional clothes.
  • greek entrants had to have penises which bend to the left, this is because the marathon track only has right hand turns and they counter weight would provide better cornering ability.
  • It’s all Greek to me.
  • nudity
  • Possession of a dick. And a moustache.
  • The insane impulse to attempt a 26 mile run.
  • the willingness to run round a big oval in the nuddy
  • Their masculine, sculpted physiques, that looked similar to ancient Greek statues.
  • Their owners were willing to let them take the morning off work for a leisurely jog.
  • Their white little skirts.
  • They all brought baclava. I can’t spell baclava but I know it’s a preposterously delicious greek dish. That would qualify ANYONE in my books.
  • They all knew the Greek words for ” on your marks, get ready go .
  • They all lived in the US. As did the majority of the Olympic competitors. And thus St Louis sparked a fine American tradition of stacking the odds at Olympic level, especially on home soil. And let’s not mention the introduction of so many fine ‘world’ sports by the US … I mean, really.. beach volleyball????? OK, so they have to legitimise the sports scholarships at tertiary level but come on!!
  • they all ran naked
  • They could afford to get to St. Louis so probably they all lived in the U.S. I guess no one had heard of that saying, “Missouri loves company.” <rim shot> </rim shot>
  • They didn’t require travelling allowance
  • They had a hunk of feta cheese tattooed on their left buttocks.
  • They had functioning legs, and they knew the way from Athens to Marathon with their eyes closed (which probably helped because they were sure to be pissed on Retsina or Ouzo or some other disgusting Greek beverage).
  • They lived in USA. Must have been a cost cutting exercise. They also had legs and were alive.
  • They looked good in a posing pouch
  • They needed to have the classic Greek profile and curly black hair.
  • They shared several attributes. All were men. All had lived in the USA prior to the Olympics (1-15 years). None had trained for the marathon. None were entered prior to the day, but turned up for marshalling and agreed to the rules and were accepted by the stewards.
  • They showed up for the drugs test, instead of running off and hiding and coming up withsome codswallap excuse.
  • They were all capable of making the marathon in the maximum time limit allowed for olympic competitors.
  • They were all lunatics, and remain so. Marathon runners I mean. That includes me.
  • They were all Melbourne taxi drivers.
  • They were all named O’Reilly?
  • They were all smokers who owned dogs and cats.
  • They were bipeds.
  • They were male
  • They’d have to be male as the women’s marathon was not included in the modern olympics until after WWII.
  • Two legs – one-legged marathon runners being at a disadvantage in the field of marathon running – more marathon hoppers, as it were, if you follow my plagiarism of Pete and Dud.

Question 5

What should you do if a bomb goes off in your building?

British Government Answer

Look for the safest way out.[Leaflet “Preparing for Emergencies” 26.7.04]

Other Answers:

  • What type of bomb, Dr Bob?
  • Hope to heck I’m off that day, and if I am there that I survive the blast; that I remember the emergency/evacuation drills that are part of mandatory training then mandatorially forgotten for the rest of the year. Other than that I would panic, run around in circ…. er, um, stay put until the evacuation order is given, render first aid in my immediate surroundings if needed, then leave via the nearest safe exit (no lifts!), in an orderly fashion, to a pre-determined assembly point. As per the manual. And the training videos.
  • 1) Beat nine kinds of crap out of the officious little weasel two labs up the corridor, then drag him to within the blast radius and put his pulped personage down to translational injury. 2) Leave the building, and I WILL grab my crash helmet on the way out even though the warden tells me off for this every time we have a drill, but the damn things cost hundreds of dollars and I’m NOT going to leave it behind if I have to walk right past it to get to the exit. 3) Sell my story to No Idea or Women’s Weakly (“Bomb Horror Exclusive – Brave Survivor Tells Her Story”) for lots of money.
  • According to www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,109979,00.asp you should grab your PDA as this will be a vital survival tool.
  • Ah huh, you want me to say “duck” doan chew? The real answer is “ensure you are the first one out the door”
  • Apparently, try to avoid falling debris. Stay away from sparking electricity and the point of origin. And ran as fast as your little legs can carry you. Seriously though, a South Australian website indicated that it’s best to avoid the point of origin by staying in an open space. Then don’t clump together, else there is a likelihood that more people may get injured by subsequent blasts.
  • Ask St Peter who else is coming?
  • Avoid being near it at the time.
  • Be glad I took the day off.
  • Be sprinting out the front holding the vital document/disk down a straight path away from a set of double glass doors. Allow self to be blown toward the camera with the heat blast which rarely contains shrapnel.
  • Bend over, grab your ankles with your hands, stick you head between your legs and kiss your ass good-bye.
  • Check the stairwell door that it’s not hot. If it’s OK, walk briskly down to the ground and report to your fire warden at the designated meeting area. What? You don’t have a designated meeting area or a firewarden? Get a job in another building that does.
  • Depending on your prejudices, blame either Saddam or Bush.
  • Depends. Size of bomb, proximity, structural damage, degree of injury, etc etc and what if it were merely an IED?
  • Die
  • Die quietly
  • Duck
  • Duck & Cover. Unless, of course, it was at your desk – in which case you just kiss your a** gooodbye.
  • Ensure that you are interstate doing an O/S install at the time.
  • Find another building!
  • First carefully check its “Use By” date, then return it to the Bomb Shoppe whence it was purchased and demand a refund.
  • Get it on video. Or stand in a doorway.
  • get out of the building
  • Get out quickly
  • http://oep.berkeley.edu/pages/guidelines4/other%20emergency/explosionbombthreat.html
  • I Don’t know, I’m the fire warden not the bomb warden. Let’s see, assuming I am not blown to bits. Evacuate anyone who is in the building, fight any fires if safe to do so, look for survivors if safe to do so, wander off in a daze when security and the Fire Brigade get here and kick me out. That’s what I usually do when the alarm goes off.
  • I’m sure this depends on where the building is, who occupies it, and how big it is. For example, if a bomb went off in the building I work in (which is small and not busy), I’d flee through the back entrance. If it went off in a big public building that was left structurally intact I’d stay inside as there may be further bombs outside set to kill the people who gather outside.
  • jump out the window dramatically in slow motion.
  • Make sure the body parts you pick up afterwards definitely belong to you
  • More info please: a stink bomb, an atom bomb, a blonde bombshell? unless you are using “goes off” in the loose sense of leave? If I was still conscious I would head to the nearest emergency gathering point dragging the blonde bombshell with me
  • PANIC.
  • Pray. Or, if you’re an atheist, run. If you’re a logical atheist, run with pessimism.
  • Remain seated, bend over, head down, grasp lower legs firmly with one’s hands, and kiss one’s bum goodbye. Same procedure as Qantas encourages one to adopt when one’s Boeing threatens to alight on a surface other than a runway. Just as bloody useless, too.
  • remove yourself from the wreckage post haste.
  • Run away!
  • Run ’round, arms aflailing, yelling “Don’t panic Captain Mannering”.
  • Seal all the windows and doors, and get out. That chemical in fly spray is not real nice!
  • Secure all sensitive material, collect your non-bulky personal effects and walk, NOT RUN, to the nearest evacuation exit checking to see that you have not had any extremities blown off. You should check to see if the exit still exists and if it does then proceed to the appointed assembly area making sure you don’t step in bits of other building users on the way. A head count should then be performed by the fire warden (who should only count heads with bodies attached). Once the scene has been attended by Police and Fire Department and the chaos sorted out you should go home and get drunk in front of the TV and then take several days off on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
  • Sort of depends on whether you’re dead or not, or if you’ve still got legs.
  • Stand in a doorway
  • Start taking photographs with my mobile.
  • take umbrage.
  • take up a religion and start praying
  • Technically PYHBYLAKYAGB ( put your head between your legs and kiss your arse goodbye )
  • Thank your lucky stars you weren’t in it.
  • Trick question, you ring the police on your mobile phone, you leave the building, you help others to leave (if able), Be aware that it is highly likly that there is a second bomb that is designed to kill emergency workers
  • Trick question–you won’t be able to do anything if a bomb goes off in your building, because you’ll be dead or incapacitated.
  • Try calming it down with some soothing words.
  • try to look innocent
  • Try very hard not to die.
  • Wait a while to see if any more explosions are coming and then head to a safe exit.
  • Well if you are aware that a bomb can gone off, then it means that you are survived the initial explosion. Thats good. Survival of the fitest now has you going to the fire evaluation areas while the emergency department deal with those members of the species who will fail to continue with the gene pool
  • Well it depends. If you’re in a lift then you should stay in it until you can leave safely.
  • What time is it when an elephant sits on your clock? Time to get a new clock. What time is it when a bomb goes off in your building? Time to . . .
  • From work place emergency guidelines: protect self from falling debris…assess damage on the floor ( why not ceiling and walls? perhaps they mean I should remain on the floor while assessing the damage?) If it is dark use a torch DO NOT use a naked flame…I wont go on….nowhere does it say remain calm

Question 6

Grettir the Strong, hero of Icelandic sagas, actually existed and lived on this hilltop, which is why these people are visiting the place. Scholars now believe they know _exactly_ where Grettir lived. Where?

Answer

Grettir the Strong, mighty warrior hero of this & that, been there done that, lived in a hole in the ground (in the middle of the picture). One wonders what ordinary folk lived in.

Other Answers:

  • Well, according to my source, who may I add is Icelandic born and bred, all Icelanders used to live inside of hills (I assume much like hobbits, only with hairier feet?), so it would seem obvious that Grettir lived INSIDE that hill.
  • I’d be guessing that he lived in the rather small hole that the people are sitting around
  • 1104 Leif Ericson Drive. They found it on the tax records.
  • 16 Acacia road. Iron Maiden lyrics. They did a lot of historical songs. [Good enough to last 1100 years?]
  • 223b Baker St, London
  • Adelaide
  • Bjarg, Iceland? [That’s what most of the trivia fans are saying]
  • Grettir lived on the “cusp of Christianity” in Iceland [sounds painful], which would explain the outlaw status. Killing people would not help that status either. What a great Saga! Someday I will read all 90+ chapters, Dr Bob, I promise. Now I know what Icelanders do in winter…
  • Doncaster east road, Mitcham. I won’t divulge the house number.
  • Down that giant hole. In Icelandic legend, if Grettir pops out of his hole and sees his shadow on March 16th, there will be eight more weeks of German tourists.
  • Duh – on the hilltop, you just said so.
  • Er, on the depicted hill. (Are you feeling okay Dr Bob?)
  • Found the petrified turds?
  • From the looks on the faces, not on that hilltop. Not even in that country by the body language of the man top right.
  • Giving that the world (like species) change over time, its a bit hard-fetched to accept that the place that Grettir lived in the past is still the same in modern times. but I would accept that on the hill is close enough
  • Grettir lived in the grotto which can be seen in the centre of the picture, what was not widely known was that his parents were greek and his father’s penis had a left hand bend in it.
  • He grew up on a farm in Bjarg and he attempted to retire to the Island Drangey, but things didn’t quite work out for him.
  • He lived on the island of Drangey, and commuted by giant albatross (the word ‘giant’ really meaning something in those days) until all those bloody tourists and daytrippers and ‘downshifters’ started to arrive (see picture) and bitch about not being able to get a decent latte and the rates went up to deal with the extra public facilities required then he took his band and slaughtered the council because he didn’t think residents should pay for the damn blow-ins, just put a tourism levy on the albatrosses ferchrissake, and in the end he just threw up his hands and sold to the developers and moved to Tasmania where some of his crew were eaten by Tasmanian Devils but the scenery is nice and the cheese is good and if the albatrosses aren’t running you can commute by Brian Harradine. Um. Yes, that’s my answer.
  • He lived on the lovely island of Drangey. It’s like a mesa-like island. Dunno how he managed to get his food. Of greater mystery was how his eventual killers managed to climb that bloody cliff to bother killing him. [Oh that’s easy – an old hag placed a curse on a piece of driftwood, which Grettir later used for firewood and his axe glanced off it and went into his leg, and the infection killed him. Honestly. Well, the infection would have killed him but Thorbjorn with 18 men arrived and helped the process along. Damn, another future trivia question given away].
  • I don’t think scholars “beliefs” are reverant.
  • I’m tempted to write, “On this hilltop.” I’m not tempted to read the saga. Throwing a dart at the European page of my atlas gives me Sweden. If it’s Sweden I can tell you the latitude and longitude where the dart landed on the map. [let me guess it Jeff – 42N 83W]
  • In a dwelling (house, castle, mud hut?) on a hilltop (probably one with lots of rocks and snow and not many tourists in his day) on Drangey Island in Iceland. There is a cruise ship that takes you there for just a few Kronur [But they charge much more to bring you back again]
  • In a gymnasium (that’s how he became strong…groan…)
  • In a hole in the ground lived a hobbit…
  • In a pineapple under the sea. DUH!
  • In Iceland, in a house on the top of a grassy hill with a bunch of bored looking people like in the photo.
  • In that hole thingy the people are standing around? Anyway bah humbug on scholars. Lot’s of them around here. If they knew “exactly” what their passwords were when they came back after Christmas that would be a start.
  • In the cave, the entrance is clearly visible towards the bottom of the picture.
  • In the hobbit hole under where all these people are standing. Quite rude, gathering on someone’s roof like that.
  • In the hole in the hill [on a log etc.]
  • In the outhouse/privy/potty that was on the top of the hill (note the squatting positions of the people–they’re emptying their bowels too).
  • inside the hill
  • just under that dudes ass in the blue
  • Next door to Greta the Weak
  • Oh come on now you must be really desperate if you are trying on the old hole in the ground line…Grettir the Strong lived in several different places during the several different phases of his life. Scholars of what? [Scholars of holes in the ground of course.]
  • On that hilltop, logically.
  • On the other hilltop.
  • Seattle
  • See the bloke with the white pants – he is standing in the doorway. Grettir may have been strong, but he was only 45.72 centimetres tall (18 inches for those who can’t count to 10)
  • Sure you don’t mean James the Strong, who lives in the pointy end of a Qantas 747? (Used to, anyway.)
  • The planet earth.
  • There <—– (anticipating photograph to be positioned correctly to the left of this paragraph). Well he didn’t live in the photo, he lived in the place depicted in the photo. You’re missing the photo’s caption, thankfully I found it: “The visitors relax by the remains of Grettir’s hut, while the guide tells the story of Grettir and companions. As you can see, there isn’t much left of the hut, only a hole in the ground. It may always have been like that – it has been suggested that the outlaws put balks of driftwood across the hole, and covered it with turf or skins.” http://www.isholf.is/gullis/jo/drangey.htm (this being on the island of Drangey). Of course he only lived there for the last 3 years of his life, the rest of it he lived in Iceland.
  • There must be a trick. He lived on this hilltop. Or, maybe, he lived in _exactly_. No, there must be a trick, or maybe my English has not improved a bit, yet.
  • Ummmmm….probably on top of the timber posts he hammered into the ground to build his hut on? Although, he was Icelandic, so he probably just slept out in the cold.
  • Where did he live? Well he was born in Bjarg near Midford, then travelled around Iceland for most of his life living in caves and various houses found available after a bit of rampaging and pillaging. He last lived on the top of Drangey Island.
  • That hilltop thingy? Is that what they do for excitement in Iceland? They don’t look very excited. [Yes but look at the hole. They are happy not to be living in it.]
  • Hoboken, New Jersey (USA). As explicated in the words “Re Grettir, I’ve had a few, but then again too few to mention…” found in “My Way”, made famous by local-boy-made-good Frank Saganatra.

COMMENTS:

  • Are you the same “Bob” who provides the sex interest in “Blackadder Goes Fourth”? [Well if I am, I have not been aware of it, and it may explain certain things that I had been wondering about]
  • Bloody hell, that was different [Most of them say that]
  • Can fat people go skinny-dipping?
  • Do you have to be a registered paranoid alfoil beanie wearer to like this site or doesnt it matter? [It seems to matter very much to some people – the ones with the alfoil hats]
  • dr bob is da bomb [Because I went off in your building?]
  • Dr Bob, I’m stuck inside the square … there are times I think I can get out of it but then I read your answers to questions I have attempted to answer and realise that my efforts are.. well… still within the bounds of squarism. I shall persist nonetheless, I’ve found a cheap inet supply of headache medication. PS. are you sure about Tassie being the biggest supplier of legal opium?
  • Dr Robert, didn’t you have some duff singles in the mid 80s?
  • Dr. Bob, Your fascination with all things Icelandic is obviously a karmic connection. If you actually ever find an authentic psychic, maybe that person can help you understand your fixation. Since that may be when hell freezes over [a process which appears to have begun in Iceland already], you may as well just enjoy it.
  • Everytime I order Domino’s, the idiots send pizza instead.
  • g’day!
  • Have you read any of Robert Rankin’s books? You Should. All of them.
  • Hello Dr Bob, after sending in my answers, I went and had a look at the previous quiz winners answers and realised that i needed to resubmit new “proper” ones, of course some of them are unchanged as they are both correct and absurd.
  • I am only 14 and have NO idea! [Great, what’s your phone number]
  • I can always come up with one witty set of answers for the quiz. It’s a piiy for you that I always send in two sets of answers, eh?
  • I intend to collect the 100K from the sceptics. I will soon prove my telekinetic abilities – see http://www.crystalinks.com/telekinesis.html to see how you too can move objects, impress your friends and re-target spy satellites to nudist colonies, especially ones where busty icelandic blond women fjolic in the fjords. All I need is to be able to concentrate for that little bit longer and I’m sure that the *spoon will bend*. Bugger, the headache is back again. Where IS the ritalin.
  • I stumbled upon this site to find a wondrous page of fantastic questions and even odder answers [and your quest continues]. And one only knows how you managed to think up of the brilliant questions while retaining a great deal of the answers (note the grovelling XD). Thank you for keeping me amused during my dreary working days. I hope that you get paid for this! [Ha! Ha! <- this is not the sound of me laughing all the way to the bank, it is the sound of the Skeptics Treasurer]
  • Iceland sounds like a fun place.. why can’t we have a good Aussie saga with a hero in it. How about “Dr Bob the Inquisitor and his ongoing search for frivilous answers to obscure questions”. Maybe you could get a castle built on an island somewhere and I could charge people money to travel to it on my boat (of course it would have to be a tropical island).
  • If aliens visited your quiz they’d think Iceland was the world’s only superpower. [Well they have a 100% success record in the wars they have fought]
  • If you’re robbing a bank and you’re pants fall down, I think it’s okay to laugh and to let the hostages laugh too, because, come on, life is funny.
  • I’m going to Darwin this Wednesday for a couple of weeks. Does that mean I win Q3? [No but if you can survive more than a day in Darwin you ought to win a medal]
  • Look at this, every question right. Have you ever seen such superb answering Bob?
  • luck has nothing to do with it a substantial bribe is far more effective. I hope your christmas and new year celebrations were enjoyable. [Yes but the money ran out halfway through Boxing Day! Willing choirboys and goats are so expensive these days. Please increase the bribe next time]
  • No I’m not gay or homophobic, yes have been drinking and yes I have joined the Aust. Skeptics
  • Not available in Digital Widescreen.
  • One day I’ll leave myself enough time to research or think of witty answers.
  • Our local supermarket has outdone itself: easter eggs appeared for sale on 2nd January.
  • Short and sweet [That’s what my wife says]
  • Silly answer, Dr.Bob, but they are not really answers. They are only the excuse to greet you, because is really long time I do not do that. Hope you’re fine, take care.
  • Sorry I haven’t been around all of December, I was in Europe on holiday. I did manage to get my quiz answers sent in on the first though so you probably didn’t notice I was gone. Speaking of which, my host sister was obsessed with the tasmanian devil cartoon character thing.
  • Thanks Dr Bob for brightening my day !
  • Anyway I’m back. What year is it this time (checks) 2005? It can’t be 2005. Already? Last time I looked it was about 1992. But that means I’m (counts on fingers) OLD. OH NO!!!
  • Thanks for the continued absence of naked ladies. [OK, and enjoy it while it lasts …. can you play chess?]