From:  kirby_dave@tandem.com (Decay)
Subject: "A Christmas Carol" trivia quiz (ANSWERS)
Followup-To: rec.games.trivia
Organization: Tandem Computers Inc.
Date: Mon, 21 Dec 1992 22:12:41 GMT

The idea behind this quiz was to trick you into reading "A Christmas Carol"
while you were searching for the answers and realizing afterward that you
had enjoyed it a lot.  Apparently, however, reading books is not something
computerniks like to do.

Congratulations to the team of Gary and Mary Ellen for having the high
score.  And the only score.

Anyway, here are the answers:

 1. What is the complete title of the story, including subtitle?
       "A Christmas Carol, In Prose (being a ghost story of Christmas)"
       NOTE:  Because many newer editions omit using the original, longer
              title, this question has been scrapped.
 2. How many spirits did Ebenezer Scrooge see?
       [trick question]  An indeterminate number (hundreds? thousands?);
       Marley's ghost showed him the air was full of repentent spirits.
       The usual answer of "three" is also wrong--many people forget poor
       old Jacob Marley, who visited first.
 3. Where were the Biblical pictures in Scrooge's apartment?
       On the tiles of the Dutch fireplace
 4. When were the Spirits of Christmas Past, Present, and Future scheduled
    to arrive?
       Past:    One a.m. Christmas night
       Present: One a.m. the night after that
       Future:  At the last stroke of twelve on the third night
    [But they did it "all in one night.  They can do anything they like.
    Of course they can.  Of course they can."]
 5. What did Scrooge do to make the Spirit of Christmas Past vanish?
       He jammed the spirit's cap, a giant candle-snuffer, down on the
       spirit's head to "extinguish" him.
 6. Of what was the Spirit of Christmas Present's throne made?
       Food!  ("turkeys, geese, game, poultry, brawn, great joints of meat,
       sucking-pigs, long wreaths of sausages, mince pies, plum puddings,
       barrels of oysters, red-hot chestnuts, cherry-cheeked apples, juicy
       oranges, luscious pears, immense twelfth-cakes, and seething bowls
       of punch")
 7. How many Cratchits were there, all told?
       Eight:  Bob Cratchit, Mrs. Cratchit, Martha (eldest child), Peter,
               Belinda, a boy and a girl known only as "the two young
               Cratchits," and of course Tiny Tim
 8. What were the Cratchits drinking when Tiny Tim toasted, "God bless us
    every one!"?
       Bob's hot mixture of gin and lemon
 9. Where were the two men who "wished each other Merry Christmas in their
    can of grog"?
       In a lighthouse, some league or so from shore
10. In the predicted future, (a) the charwoman, (b) the laundress, and 
    (c) the undertaker's man sold to old Joe (1) a seal or two, a 
    pencil-case, a pair of sleeve buttons, and a brooch; (2) sheets, 
    towels, some clothing, two old-fashined silver teaspoons, a pair of
    sugar-tongs, and a few boots; (3) bed curtains, blankets, and 
    Scrooge's best shirt.  Who stole what from the deceased Scrooge?
        (a) stole (3)
        (b) stole (2)
        (c) stole (1)
11. The Spirit of Christmas Future didn't vanish, but dwindled into--what?
        Scrooge's own bedpost.
12. What did Ebenezer pat, declaring, "I shall love it as long as I live!"?
        The door knocker that took on Marley's appearance the night before
13. Bob Cratchit was late for work [see question 8] the day after
    Christmas.  How late?
        18-1/2 minutes

Happy Christmas/Hanukah/Kwanzaa/Solstice/future.  (Your next assignment is
to read the _other_ Dickens supernatural Christmas story.)


  __   ___  ___  ___      | kirby_dave@tandem.com     Tandem Computers Inc.
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/__/ /__  /__  /  /   /   | "I had one grunch but the eggplant over there."
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