"And now we welcome the new year. Full of things that have never been."

                                       -Rainer Maria Rilke  (1875-1926)

One could say that 2016 was a particularly interesting year.  Of course, the definition of 'interesting' varies from person to person.   To some, 2016 was an engrossing novel kind of interesting.  To some others, it was an ancient Chinese curse kind of interesting.     Whatever your perspective, the year 2016 certainly left a lasting impression.   The first quiz of 2017 pays homage to the year that was.    Test your knowledge of 2016!    Note: Because the star dome is only encased in ten-foot thick layers of concrete and steel, we will avoid any questions pertaining to American politics.

1. Let's get it over with.   What is the Roman Numeral equivalent of 2016?

a.   MMXVI

b.   MMXIV

c.   MMLXI

d.   MMXXVI

2.  On September 8, 2016, NASA launched OSIRIS-REx.  What is its mission?

a.  to deliver mummified pharaohs to Mars

b.  to return samples from an asteroid

c.  to explore Europa, an ice moon of Jupiter

d.  to study the Sun from the L5 point

3.  The year 2016 was a particularly dangerous year for celebrities.  Which ONE of the following celebrities did NOT die in 2016?

a. Carrie Fisher

b. Debbie Reynolds

c. David Bowie

d. John Glenn

e.  William Christopher (of M*A*S*H fame)

f. Anton Yelchin (Chekov in the Star Trek movies)

g.  Wayne Rogers (of M*A*S*H fame)

h.  Gene Wilder

i   Alan Rickman

4.  Two paintings, "Seascape at Scheveningen" and Congregation Leaving the Reformed Church" in Nuenen, stolen in 2002, were recovered in September 2016.    These recovered art works have an estimated value of $100 million.     Which artist produced these works?

a.   Vincent van Gogh

b.  Edvard Munch

c.  Jan Vermeer

d.  Claude Monet

5. In July 2016, the Japanese company Funai manufactured the last one of what?

a.  Walk man cassette recorders

b.  Slide projectors

c.  Video cassette recorders

d.  Tube-based televisions

6. On June 23rd, the majority of voters in Britain voted to leave the European Union.   How many sovereign states comprise the EU, including the UK?

a.  21

b. 24

c. 28

d. 33

7.  In July 2016, the first ________________ circumnavigated Earth.

a.  drone

b.  solar powered aircraft

c.  777 jet liner

d. human in a wing suit

8. Which city hosted the 2016 Summer Olympics?

a.  Rio de Janeiro

b.  Mexico City

c.  Buenos Aires

d.  Caracas

9. It seems highly probable that "Rogue One," which opened in 2016, will be the highest grossing movie of 2016.  However, it currently holds the # 2 position.   Which movie, right now, is still considered the highest grossing movie (domestically) of 2016?

a.  "Finding Dory"

b.  "Captain America: Civil War"

c.  "The Secret Life of Pets"

d.  "Deadpool."

10.  On January 1, 2016, __________ became the first state to raise the legal smoking age to 21.

a. Maine

b. Hawaii

c. California

d. South Carolina

Imagine someone is displaying '2016" on a digital scoreboard.  You know, those scoreboards that, when turned off, show a row of "8s"       On such a scoreboard, 2016 could be inverted to produce the number 9102.    The difference between 9102 and  2016  is 7,086.     

The question is:    Between the years 1 - 2000, which year, when inverted, could produce the greatest difference between itself and its inverse?      As an example:     888 isn't the answer.  When inverted, the resultant number is 888, making a difference of 0.  As a hint:  2016 isn't the answer, even though the difference between 2016 and its inverse is 7,086.       As a second hint:  the year that is the correct answer is historically significant.               SORRY, NO CHOICES

(This question was presented on BBC Radio 4's program "More or Less.")

ANSWERS

1. a.   MMXVI

2. b.  to return samples from an asteroid

The name stands for "Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx)"      This spacecraft is scheduled to rendezvous with the asteroid 101955 Bennu in August 2018.   It will collect samples of this carbonaceous asteroid and then will return to Earth in 2023. 

 

3.  g.  Wayne Rogers (of M*A*S*H fame)

Wayne Rogers died on December 31, 2015

William Christopher (also from M*A*S*H) died on December 31, 2016

4. a.   Vincent van Gogh

5. c.  Video cassette recorders

6.  c. 28

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark. Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom

7. b.  solar powered aircraft

Solar Impulse 2

8. a.  Rio de Janeiro

9.  a.  "Finding Dory"

$486,295,561

Rogue One's current total:   $455,301,354

Rogue One will likely surpass "Finding Dory" this weekend.

10.  b. Hawaii

BONUS QUESTION:

1066

9901 - 1066  = 8,835