Category: Quiz

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Weekly Quiz 2014: 13

RESULTS: 4 April 2014

Four members submitted excellent analyses of the question about the ornithological “either/or” riddle.  Usually this is thought to be Dr Watson’s sighting of either a gull or a curlew in HOUN. Our member team of Margie Deck and Sheila Holtgrieve, “Gwen” and “Daisy” from Seattle, were first to submit with brilliant and very thorough textual, scientific and scholarship reviews favouring the gull.

Second in was Denny Dobry “Kirby” who submitted an equally adroit analysis offering evidence for either a city bred or a country bred goose in BLUE. This was a new theory in the extant scholarship and very clever; it hinges on the validity of the actual existence of a “crop” in a goose. Town geese, not having crops, were posited to have undergone an evolutionary change over time, thereby producing a crop due to London’s pollution.

And our third submission was from fellow member, Michele Lopez “Reggie”  president of Italy’s Uno Studio in Holmes, who offered his precise analysis of the gull/curlew hypothesis, also favouring the gull.

All were well-done and well-supported by both Canonical, scientific and scholarly evidence. Each cited the specific BSJ articles of prior years that explored the issues of birds in the Canon.

There will be a modest article in the forthcoming issue of The Watsonian at the end of this month discussing aspects of this question. Those interested are invited to read more on the topic in the journal.

This week’s quiz was a question requiring research, both Canonical and scientific.

Please download the quiz question below.
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Download the Week 13 Question.

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Quiz Masters “Gwen” and “Daisy” Volunteer a Quiz

Our members from Seattle’s Sound of the Baskervilles, and intrepid Quiz Team, Margie Deck “Gwen” and Sheila Holtgrieve “Daisy” have devised a fascinating quiz for our members. It is all about unpublished Canonical stories and events.

Please send your answers to “Daisy” and “Gwen” at: thepawkypuzzler@yahoo.com

Margie and Sheila will answer you and will post the correct answers next week as a comment to this post.  Thanks very much to each of you for filling the Quiz hiatus with a wonderful test of knowledge!

The Quiz

SOB TEAM/Sheila “Daisy” and Margie “Gwen”

The Untold Tales

All questions relate to the untold tales mentioned in the canon.

All answers must include the story where the mention is found.

Scoring is five points for each correct answer; bonus question #20 is worth ten points due to the dual nature of the question.

One extra point per question will be awarded for including the correct page number from Buttons’ venerable 1930 Doubleday Edition.

  1. What vessel went missing in the mist?
  2. What does Watson deprecate and what will he do if it happens again?
  3. Holmes reminds Watson about a mild man who sought Holmes’ help; who was he and why did he want help?
  4. Only a very important issue could call Holmes from London as he was busy; what are the two things which had him busy?
  5. What fashionable person came to see Holmes and stayed part of an hour?
  6. In 1894 Watson had at least six cases which would furnish a narrative but apparently did not; name the cases.
  7. Lestrade mentions, in a letter to Holmes, a case involving a large, swarthy person; who is this person and what was his affair?<
  8. Holmes saved someone’s mother’s elder brother from murder; name the someone, the intended victim, and the villain who was to commit the crime.
  9. For whom did Holmes arrange an affair, and who reminded him of it the next year?
  10. Watson states that one July was striking due to several cases, one of which concerned a captain; describe the captain.
  11. Whose terror prevented Holmes from leaving, and what kind of terror was it?
  12. Name the deceased husband of a client who was also a client of Holmes in one of the early cases.
  13. While Holmes dug in vain in his commonplace book for a name his client wished him to know, he found the familiar names of two others with the same surname; give the three names and describe the three people.
  14. A client says to Holmes that he heard of Holmes in regard to a club scandal; name the client and the club.
  15. How did Holmes run down the coiner?
  16. Sherlock did not consult Mycroft about what case involving whom?
  17. What was coming to a head resulting in Holmes’ inability to go to Lewisham?
  18. In what abstruse problem was Holmes immersed in 1895?
  19. Name a king Holmes worked for and one he worked against.
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Brief Hiatus on Quizzes

Buttons and Asta are moving next week from California to Florida. We would ask your patience until we get there and get moved into our new home. The quizzes will resume in late March. Please watch for the return.  Thank you.

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Weekly Quiz 2014: 8

Flowers, anyone?

RESULTS: Denny Dobry has done excellent research and has sent a veritable catalogue of flowers and flowering plants in the Canon.  He is 21/21 for this week’s quiz honours. Margie Deck and Sheila Holtgrieve also submitted more than was asked and had a perfect 21/21 in the Team Category.  Elinor Hickey came close and added to the solutions. Well Done, all!  Answers are below:
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Download Week 8 Questions and Answers.

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Weekly Quiz 2014-7

This week’s quiz has to do with Canonical character inferences. Enjoy!

RESULTS:  A high participation quiz!  Five members with 7/7 and all receive the week’s honours:

Michele Lopez “Reggie;” Michael Ellis “Lobo;” Melissa Anderson “Faith;” Denny Dobry “Kirby;” and our Team: Sheila Holtgrieve “Daisy” and Margie Deck “Gwen.”

Congratulations!  Well Done!

Answers below:

file_download.pngDownload Week 7 Questions and Answers

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Weekly Quiz 2014-6

Everyone did so well on the palindromes last week, here is one more. Good Luck!

RESULTS: The honours go to Denny Dobry “Kirby” with 25 points; Melissa Anderson “Faith” with 25 points; Dean Trunbloom “Stoker;” and our Team SOBs Margie Deck “Gwen” and Sheila Holtgrieve “Daisy” with 25 points.

ANSWER: Sherlock Holmes and Nero Wolfe = e-o and o-e, a palindrome of vowels frontwards and backwards.

file_download.png Download Week 6 Question

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Weekly Quiz 2014-5

The Weekly Quiz is all about palindrome forms.  You’re going to love this one!

Results:  Excellent participation this week from Denny Dobry “Kirby,” with 25 points, James O’Leary “Pippin” and Elinor Hickey “Misty” coming next, and Team SOB with Margie Deck “Gwen” and Sheila Holtdrieve “Daisy” with 25 points. Congratulations all!

Questions and answers can be downloaded below:

file_download.pngDownload Week 5 Questions and Answers

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Weekly Quiz 2014-4

Here is the weekly quiz for the fourth week of 2014.  It is all about place names. Please submit solutions to buttons@johnhwatsonsociety.com by 12 N on Wednesday, 29 January 2014.

RESULTS: Great participation this week. The honours for perfect performance of 25/25 + 5 = 30 points go to Denny Dobry “Kirby,” Michael Ellis “Lobo,” Kenneth Siarkiewicz “Cooper,” and our never-to-be-stumped team of Margie Deck “Gwen,” and Sheila Holtgrieve “Daisy.” Congratulations to all!

Please download the questions and answers below.

file_download.pngDownload Week 4 Questions and Answers.

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Weekly Quiz 2014-3

Results: This was a very interesting quiz with no true “right” answers. We have two sets of answers tied at 25/25 from Sheila Holtgrieve “Daisy” and Margie Deck “Gwen” and from Denny Dobry “Kirby.”  We will publish both answers and allow you to debate the merits of both responses. As far as Buttons is concerned, everybody did a superb job!

The “Daisy” and “Gwen” and “Kirby” responses are below for downloading.

This week’s quiz is interesting (I hope). It’s all about relativities. Please download your copy below and submit answers by 12 Noon, Wednesday, 22 January 2014 to: buttons@johnhwatsonsociety.com

Enjoy!
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Download Week 3 Questions.

 

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Download Daisy & Gwen’s Response.

 

file_download.png Download Kirby’s Response.

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Weekly Quiz 2014-1 Results

Week 1 of 2014 was contested by 8 members and one team group. Those taking the honours with perfect scores and five bonus points are:

Member Individual: Denny Dobry “Kirby” of Reading PA. Placing next was Elinor Hickey “Misty” of Baltimore MD and James O’Leary “Pippin” of Natick MA.

Member Team: Margie Deck “Gwen;”  Sheila Holtgrieve “Daisy;” of Sound of the Baskervilles, Seattle WA with 20/20 + 5 = 25 points.

Congratulations to these intrepid Quiz Masters!

Answers are posted below.

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Weekly Quiz 2014-01

The John H Watson Society Weekly Quiz:
Questions
A Tribute Quiz to Prof Don Yates “Pal”

Prof Yates offered a unique form of quiz to the members attending the recent 27 December 2013 Consultation at the home of Society members Andree and Chuck Youngson. This is a quiz of word association and is not as easy as it looks. Here is a poor rendition of Dr Yates’s diabolical quiz. Submissions should be sent to buttons@johnhwatsonsociety.com by 7 pm (Pacific) on Wednesday, 8 January 2014.

The questions are direct quotes or references from the canon, reduced to single letters. For example:

A quote: “Y. h. b. t. A., I. p.” = “You have been to Afghnistan, I perceive.” Holmes; SCAR.

A reference: the r-m’d M. W. = the red-moustached Mr Woodley. Violet Smith; SOLI.

For each question, complete the quote or reference and identify the speaker or the object and the book or story where it is found. Each question is 1 point with a 5 point bonus for total accuracy (25 total possible points).

  1. J. D. of B. C.
  2. The S. S. of J. S.
  3. “W. a. t. w.?”
  4. “The d. d. n. i. t. n.”
  5. “P. S. A. C.—“
  6. ‘S t. p. o. McC., P., a J. S. of St. A.
  7. Mr. H., t. w. t. f. o. a g. h!”
  8. E. W., D. D., P. of the T. C. of St. G’s.
  9. “ . . . I am the s. of the R t. o. C ‘V., and G. S. is my b.m.”
  10. ‘. . . R. F. of F. and M, t. b., of M. L., . . .’
  11. “That w. o. w. t. b. t., . . .”
  12. ‘ . . . the i. g. of N., . . .’
  13. “Some day the t. s. may b. t.”
  14. “S. w. m. h. u. t. t., . . .”
  15. ‘I. t. y. 1878 I t. m. d. of D of M of t. U. of L.,’
  16. “Shall the w., then, b. o. b. o.?”
  17. “Our b. are f. and the n. e.” Holmes; GREE.
  18. ‘ . . . I y. f. t. g. of the N. F., or t. s. of S.”
  19. ‘Must s. y. over C. W. C. at o. /s/ M.
  20. M. A. Upon S. H.

 

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Download Week 1 Questions

 

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Download Week 1 Questions and Answers

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Weekly Quizzes Resume 3 January 2014

Just a reminder to our intrepid Quiz Masters that the Weekly Quiz will resume on Friday, 3 January 2014 at 4 pm Pacific time.

With a new year beginning, we invite all of our members to participate in the quiz activities. It is a pleasant and fun diversion each week and we have many reports from long-time Sherlockians and Watsonians saying that they always learn many new things from the quizzes.

Please, do give it a go!

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How About Just a Tiny Quiz to Tide Us Over . . .?

AND THE RESULTS ARE . . . It would seem that this question could be the basis of a very interesting paper for The Watsonian. There are echoes in both solutions below to indicate the presence of myth, folklore, religion, and supernatural belief. And, there may well be additional names that fit the specter of the Hound.

Dean Turnbloom “Stoker” sends this interesting and historically pertinent solution to the question:

Cusith or Cù-Sìth was a Hellhound, harbinger of death (Scotland, the Hebrides, Ireland). According to Scottish folklore, the Cù-Sìth is said to be the size of a young bull with the appearance of a wolf. Its fur is shaggy, and usually cited as being dark green though sometimes white. Its tail is described as being long and either coiled up or plaited (braided). Its paws are described as being the width of a man’s hand. The Cù-Sìth is thought to make its home in the clefts of rocks in the Highlands, and also to roam the moors and highlands. The Cù-Sìth was feared as a harbinger of death and would appear to bear away the soul of a person to the afterlife, similar to the manner of the Grim Reaper. In this role the Cù-Sìth holds in Scottish folklore a function similar to that of the Bean Sidhe, or banshee, in Irish folklore.

According to legend, the creature was capable of hunting silently, but would occasionally let out three terrifying bays, and only three, that could be heard for miles by those listening for it, even far out at sea. Those who hear the baying of the Cù-Sìth must reach safety by the third bark or  be overcome with terror to the point of  death.

Congratulations to Mr Turnbloom who resides in Santee, California.

Kenneth Siarkiewicz sends his analysis and suggests “Lucifer” as the hellhound’s name, a name that seems eminently logical, fitting and in keeping with the supernatural speculation of the story.

“Cooper” also suggests the name might be ‘Black Shuck” from one of the English folk-legends. This legend bears quite a close resemblance to the Hound. It is spectral and foreboding and deserves to be read in its full description on Wikipedia (follow the link) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Shuck

Congratulations to “Cooper” who resides, reads and thinks in Tucson, Arizona. Kenneth joined the Society in August and we appreciate his contribution in helping us to think about this unique question.

Question

The hound in The Hound of the Baskervilles is not given a name in the text by Dr Watson. From the Canonical textual evidence and from inference, what is the likely name of the hound?

Submit answers to buttons@johnhwatsonsociety.com by 12 Noon (Pacific) Friday. The answers will be judged and the results will be posted here by Saturday.

Have fun . . .