13 questions from the program “What? Where? When? ", Over which you have to ponder
Recreation / / December 29, 2020
1. Paradoxical similarity
What paradoxical similarity did the English poet Christina Rossetti find with a sewing needle, a shoe and a teapot when she wrote a poem for children?
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The similarity is that inanimate objects also have ears, tongues, and noses. This is how the poem sounds in the translation of Viktor Lunin: “The teapot has a nose, but no head. There is an eye at the needle, but it does not hear. The shoes have a tongue, but the shoes are silent anyway. "
2. Unusual goddess
Saving Ronan by James Bibby describes many gods and goddesses. Each deity has its own function, but the most thankless job went to a goddess named Braala. Her charges don't even pray to her! Whom does she patronize?
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Braala patronizes atheists. Here is what the book says about her: “Over the past nearly two centuries, Braala has never received a single prayer. So after one hundred and ninety-seven years of nail care, crossword puzzles at Evening Valhalla and endless cups of tea she would like to announce to everyone, everyone, everyone that any prayer from any person, no matter how strange it may be, will be met by her with a great joy. "
3. DJs on air
In the radio program called "Voices", the voices of famous people are embedded between the songs. Moreover, these celebrities are named in a hip-hop manner: MC plus a nickname-hint. For example, MC Krupa - Nadezhda Krupskaya, MC Cosmonaut - Yuri Gagarin, and so on. Who got the nickname "Square"?
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Albert Einstein. The scientist got the nickname because of the famous law of equivalence of mass and energy, which he formulated. The law is written like this: E = mc2.
4. Freaky Apothecary
Alla Ktorova's book "A Sweet Gift, or the Secret of Names and Nicknames" tells about unusual namesthat were given to people. For example, the pharmacist Natan Semyonovich from Melitopol named his three daughters Gony, Retz and Kop. Moreover, Gonya was a diminutive of Agony. What were the full names of the diminutives of Retz and Kop?
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The pharmacist gave the daughters names from an area close to him. The full name of Rety is Recipe, and Kopy is Pharmacopoeia (this was the name of documents with requirements for the quality of medicines).
For such imitativeness, the spouse scolded the pharmacist with the last words, and the daughters remained unmarried, because the suitors were wary of young ladies with strange names.
5. Random factor
This object was distinguished from similar ones by the increased content of the 79th element of the periodic table. An experiment to violate its integrity, in which two people took part, failed, but was still carried to the end thanks to the intervention of a random factor. What was this factor?
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The 79th element of the periodic table is gold. An object that differs from similar ones in the increased content of this element is the golden egg. This is what happened to him in the fairy tale “Ryaba Chicken”: “His grandfather beat him - he didn't break it. Grandma beat - beat - did not break. And the mouse ran, waved its tail, the testicle fell and broke. " So the random factor is the mouse.
6. Enthusiastic viewers
It was presented to the public on May 7, 1824 in Vienna. At first, the audience, as is customary, applauded, and then began to throw up hats and scarves. For what reason did the public change the form of their delight?
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On May 7, 1824 in Vienna the premiere of "Symphony No. 9" by Ludwig van Beethoven took place. The composer was deaf and did not hear applause. To show that they liked the piece of music, the audience threw their hats into the air, jumped up from their seats and waved their arms.
7. Ice rinses
During the filming of some scenes of Nikita Mikhalkov's film "Burnt by the Sun", the artists constantly had to rinse their mouths with ice water. What for?
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The action of the film begins in the summer, and the shooting took place during the cold season, when the temperature dropped to minus marks. Artists and decorators recreated artificial grass and foliage on bare trees, illuminators imitated the rays of the summer sun, and artists had to rinse their mouths with ice water to keep the steam out.
8. Copier question
In one of his stories, Sergei Dovlatov mentions a story about a famous the writer, who came with his wife Irina to New York and went to a special office to make copies of some papers. Why was the writer so pleased with the seemingly common question of the copier - "Each one by one"?
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The copier's question in English sounds like this: "One of each?", Which is very similar to the name Voinovich. The writer in question is Vladimir Voinovich. And he was delighted because he thought the copier recognized him.
9. Unusual disease
“This stupid and dangerous disease is gripping all of Russia. Women, children, boys and soldiers, soldiers, soldiers... Psychiatrists will pay attention to this disease, study it and carry it, probably, to the same category of nervous diseases as nail biting, various tics, involuntary grimaces and obsessive gestures. It is necessary to fight this disease and take decisive and urgent measures. " What is this disease that poet Nadezhda Teffi wrote about?
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Teffi called the habit of gnawing seeds "a disease". Before the 1917 revolution, sunflower husking was common mainly in rural areas and was considered a marginal habit.
After the revolution, many soldiers and sailors appeared in the cities, who constantly gnawed seeds and spat on shells, which greatly annoyed the intelligentsia.
10. End of diplomacy
It is said that Lord Palmerston, being British Foreign Secretary in the middle of the 19th century, once exclaimed: "Lord, this is the end of diplomacy!" What did they bring him that day?
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Lord Palmerston received the first international telegram. Its brevity undermined the art of diplomacy.
11. Music on bones
In the middle of the 20th century, censorship was rampant in the Soviet Union. Forbidden fans melodies they themselves made the plates and called them "plates on the edges" or "plates on the bones." What was the basis for them?
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X-rays. Such “records” could be purchased from sellers at flea markets or from blacksmiths in dark alleys. Only one song with a duration of no more than 3-4 minutes was placed on these musical carriers, and the sound quality left much to be desired.
12. The price of life
Guess riddle: she will tell you about love at the cost of her own life. Who is she?
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Chamomile. The girls tore off the petals from the flower and said "Loves - does not love, spits - kisses, presses to the heart - send to hell" to find out how the guy treats them.
13. Addicting game
In the 1860s, engraver and cartographer John Spilsbury figured out how to make the study of geography more fun. What puzzle game did he invent?
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Spilsbury made the world's first puzzle from the political map of Europe. He glued a black-and-white paper card on a wooden base, sawed it along the lines of state borders and offered it to those wishing to re-assemble it.
The puzzles for this collection are taken from base questions “What? Where? When?" and from of this archive.
How many puzzles have you solved? Which one seemed the most difficult? Let us know in the comments!
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