Trivia

[skg]

You got the magic word, XYZZY - it doesn't (didn't) have any particular meaning outside the game, but since then has appeared in all sorts of computer/game settings. Within the game, it has to be said in the right context to accomplish anything. (It's easy to find out if you like, but if you are playing it, you may want to discover it.)

The game is the "Colosal Cave Adventure" or just "Adventure" and it was based (to an extent) on Mammoth Cave in Kentucky.

As the first game of it's kind, it was hugely influential among software developers and game designers. One of the books about computer game design draws it's title from Adventure, Nick Montfort's "Twisty Little Passages". The genre, known as "interactive fiction" is alive and well, but almost completely eclipsed by games with graphics, animation, and audio. But if you search out interactive fiction there are a lot of games still being developed. They are almost all free and they cover a huge range. Emily Short is a well known designer.

So, over to you, and we can save the name which came from Go for another time.

As for the crossproduct, here is the relevant bit from the wikipedia entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_product#Mnemonic

cheers,
skg

[cariad]

I do love those text games, especially the ones with a reasonable chance of actually sussing out the whole thing. I played a similar type of game with graphics (I think pretty simple graphics) called Antrim Escape. It was free on my iPhone and I actually made it  through the whole thing  without resorting to a walkthrough. I have to mostly avoid those text games because I do get addicted to the good ones. I played one about 5 years ago when I was still really sick from kidney failure - it was set underneath London and I quite enjoyed that one, something to do with a missing will. I  would choose a text game over most graphic games any chance I got, although I rarely play any video games.

Thanks for the recommendation - next time I find myself too ill to leave bed (hopefully not for a great long while) I will look up that designer and see if I can forget my troubles with an adventure.

Getting back to business: Which country has the longest national anthem? Which country has the shortest? Since longest and shortest in music can be interpreted in a couple of ways, there will be more than one possible answer for each question.

[okarol]

OK I had to google this since no one answered:

Longest - Ode to Freedom was adopted as the national anthem of Greece in 1864. The anthem is 158 stanzas long.

Shortest - The Japanese anthem (Kimi ga Yo) at only 6 lines long.

What say you cariad? 

[cariad]

I say Good show, Karol!

I also would have accepted Uganda for shortest anthem (I think the tune is shorter than Japan, but more lyrics?) Not sure there is another national anthem that can compete with the Greeks!

Over to you.

[okarol]

Oh my! How did I miss my turn??? 

Which traits help to classify whales as mammals?

[Riki]

Oh my! How did I miss my turn??? 

Which traits help to classify whales as mammals?

um.. off the top of my head, I'd say that the main 2 traits would be that they breathe through a blowhole, instead of gills, and that they give birth to their young instead of laying eggs

[MaryD]

Warm blooded and feed their young milk?

[CebuShan]

Warm blooded and live births?

[okarol]

I was going for air-breathing and nurse their young, so Riki, you were first.... you're up!

[Riki]

ok.  This should be an easy one.  Most know that I am a huge Daily Show/Colbert fan, and have been for years.  This summer, Jon Stewart is gone, and has been replaced by John Oliver, a cute and flaky Brit who (unfortunately for me) has married an Iraq vet who could kick my ass three ways from Sunday.  So no touchie JohnnyO for Riki. *LOL*  So Jon Stewart has left The Daily Show in the capable hands of John Oliver for 3 months to direct a movie.

My question has a 3 part answer.  What is the name of the movie, where is it being filmed, and what is it based upon?

[CebuShan]

 The movie is Rose-something.   
I think it's about a journalist who gets thrown in prison. (I don't remember why!)
Location...Hmm, I'm going to guess somewhere in the Middle East or Southern Europe somewhere!
     Is that vague enough!   

[Riki]

totally vague... *LOL*

[Riki]

Wow.. I didn't think it would be that hard a question

[CebuShan]

         

[okarol]

Jon Stewart will direct "Rosewater," an adaptation of journalist Maziar Bahari's "Then They Came For Me: A Family’s Story Of Love, Captivity And Survival."
The book is Maziar Bahari’s harrowing ordeal of leaving London in June 2009 to cover Iran’s presidential elections. With a pregnant fiance left behind, the BBC journalist expected to be away for a week. Instead, he spent the next 118 days in Iran’s most notorious prison being brutally interrogated by a man he knew only by one thing: he smelled of Rosewater.
When Bahari was accused of spying, one of the items used against him was an appearance he made on The Daily Show.
Although Rosewater mostly will take place in interior settings, the film will shoot entirely in Jordan.

Sounds interesting. 

[Riki]

it does sound interesting, doesn't it.. I imagine it will probably only play in select theatres when it does come out.  I believe Jon wrote the movie as well.  I remember the segment from The Daily Show that was used when interrogating Bahari.  He was meeting with, of all people, Jason Jones, who seemed to have a great time while he was in Iran.  Jon felt bad after he found out what happened after that segment was shot, and I think that's part of the reason he's doing the movie.

You're up, Okarol.

[CebuShan]

Oh, well! I was close!         

[okarol]

Oh, well! I was close!         

Very! hahahah 

[okarol]

Milk from what animal has three times the level of vitamin C of cow's milk and can also combat diarrhea and dehydration?

[CebuShan]

I would guess goat's milk. However I do know that there is a lot of potassium in goat's milk.

[okarol]

Nope! Try again! 

[UkrainianTracksuit]

Am I allowed to answer?  I'm probably wrong but is it camel milk?  *was a fan of camel milk chocolate*

[okarol]

  YES! In honor of hump day, it's camel milk!

OK UkrainianTracksuit - it's your turn to ask a trivia question! 

[UkrainianTracksuit]

*scratches head* This might be easy... but...

Which European heavyweight boxing champ had to retire after injuries gained as a paratrooper?

[CebuShan]

 I can barely name any American boxing champs! So, unless it's Muhammad Ali or George Foreman, I have no clue!