Dr. Bob's Skeptical Quiz

SORRY, my e-mail system ate some of the answers in November and early December. Some messages were mistakenly identified as spam on one only of my computers, and junked. This was based on the site's e-mail address as originator ... we had been getting an appalling load of spam e-mail from address-trawling bots but the "copy the number here" thing has fixed that. Unfortunately there is no way to recover the lost messages, not even from my e-mail trash. So if you didn’t fill in the e-mail field, and you sent the message off in the evening Australian time, and you don’t see your answers here, that’d be why. (Or, if your answers were crap anyway, that’d be why too). My sincere apologies to those whose efforts were lost. The problem was fixed on Dec 17.

In this most pictorial of quiz months, from a field with some strong efforts from Ben Lucker, Mark Roberts, Bill Yeats, Jo Esser, James Dale and others. Lord knows how many good answers my junk filter threw out by accident. There were several entries with 5 right (nobody got Q5) - mostly from Aruba!! It’s a conspiracy I tell you … Aruba could become the new Iceland ….

But the WINNER for this month has long been overdue to enter the mythical Hall of Fame, which I promised 5 years ago and really must get around to doing sometime. To you in darkest Canberra, I greet you, O thrice winner -

Cathy Bannister

Q1 Where's this?

Ans Isafjordur, in north-west Iceland. Around the mountain at the back of the picture runs the dead-end road to Bolungavik, scene of the award-wining 2003 film Noi Albinoi. The film is set in the winter, when Bolungavik is cut off from the rest of the world for many months, and it has the most miserable film ending I have ever experienced; they may as well fill the cinema with poison gas. Isafjordur, on the other hand, is a joyful place, where Sigur Ros started off their free tour of Iceland in mid 2006. Darn it, I am giving away future questions! To see a Google maps page with these two towns at top and bottom of the screen: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&om=1&z=12&ll=66.113009,-23.14991&spn=0.100653,0.317917&t=h

• Iceland? about time you revisited that for a question
• Isafjörður harbour!
• Isafjordur, Skutulsfjordur Fjord,Iceland
• The port of Ísafjörður, in North-western Iceland
• Specifically, I don't know for sure, but since you worship Iceland, I guess Iceland...
• 10km north of where the Mars space thingy landed.....
• A hole that looks to be pretty cold
• Alaska
• Alaska
• Alaska
• alaska
• alaska
• Antarctica
• Canada
• Cape Town
• Down the end of the canal - the quay at the end of "there is no water on mars" street.
• Falkland Islands
• Guatemala
• Hoo boy, I love the picture questions. <cough> Shall I go with the smart-aleky "At the top of the page"? Or maybe the overly-broad "Planet Earth"? I could take the wild stab in the dark based on some of the patterns I've noticed in other quizes and guess Hitler, the Titanic or Pitcairn Island! Gads, and there are four more pictures to go, I'd better pace myself.
• I think I see a Surströmming canning facility. So Sweden. Can I have Iceland, too, so that I don't have to submit twice?
• In Dr Bob's quiz (sorry, but I've got it right already).
• Japan. -- Konnichiwa
• MS Flight Simulator "Optional Scenery" fictional airport, location 32 12'S 149 47'E
• near a mountain
• Next to a mountain, probably north of here.
• new zealand
• North Greenland, mid-winter 2019.
• North of the answer to Q2.
• Norway
• Norway? Just a wild guess
• Russia
• Santa's workshop on the lower east side of the earth. Too many peeps snooping round the pole.
• south america
• south pole
• The land of scary ski slopes.
• This is the award winning fiord designed by Slartybartfast. His signature is clearly visible along the ridge in the Magrathian snow script.

Q2 Where's this?

Ans Aruba!!!! Very pitiful that a part of this tree isn't among us anymore...

• A beach somewhere, obviously no-where tourists go very much.
• A Kevin Federline concert. Even a deserted beach couldn't tempt people to come and even the tree is looking depressed
• Africa
• Aruba
• Christmas Island
• Definitely somewhere on the Baring Sea.
• Eagle Beach, Aruba
• Fiji
• Gold Coast
• Guam
• Hawaii
• Hayman Island
• I'm gonna go with Mauritius
• Israel
• It's on this page of stock photos, and is a divi-divi tree on Palm Beach in Aruba: http://www1.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/496507/2/istockphoto_496507_divi_divi_tree.jpg and in fact all you need to do to find it is type "Aruba beach tree" into Google Images.
• Lone "Divi-Divi" tree on beach in Aruba
• Most people foolishly believe that this tree leans the way it does because the wind constantly blows to the south east. Truth be told, it was struck by the water plug of a U-Boat gun that the Nazi's forgot to remove when shelling Aruba...
• New Zealand
• Northern Territory
• On a beach
• On Dr. Bob's quiz on the Australian Skeptics website.
• On the beach obviously - horizontal gnarled trees like this are commmon in Carnarvon and Geraldton (WA) but lean away from the coast. The very white (if that is possible) sand could be Broome but I doubt if any skeptics know about our existence
• Silvania Waters.
• South Greenland, mid-summer 2020.
• South of the answer to Q1.
• St John, Virgin Islands
• Terrarium. That's a bonsai tree. Can I have Iceland, too, so I don't have to submit 4 times?
• The beach. Geeze how hard is that supposed to be.
• The winning entry in the "World's Largest Bonsai Tree" competition. Where? No idea.
• This is not a place but a being - my uncle Ron sunbaking in the Vastitas Borealis Formation Beach
• Timor Leste
• Tonga
• Western Australia
• Where I want to be.
• Whit Sundays
• With sands that white, erm? Hyam's Beach or Huskisson, Jarvis Bay area?

Q3 What's he looking for?

The correct answer is that he’s checking the Cerenkov radiation phototubes in a neutrino detector, in a salt mine. But even the truth falls to these answers below. Well done, everybody!

• The clitoris
• Osama bin Laden
• The diver is desperately looking for a proton decay which the 2048 light-sensitive phototubes for Cerenkov radiation could not detect for years, and for which the huge detector was originally constructed; using his face mask as a magnifying glass.
• A big glass of Carlton Draught and some pokie machines
• A coin
• A leak
• A life.
• A new career in his spare time probably.
• A nuclear fuel cell?
• A way out
• An ashtray and a stepladder.
• Any table with a chair in the Sydney Opera House cafeteria, April 2020.
• Aspirin
• Bad light bulbs
• Broken glass
• Contact lens
• Funds and/or funding
• His car keys!
• His contact lens. In good taste, I will omit all of the adjectives the man in the picture uses when describing said lens.
• His glasses
• I hope it is a square of plexiglass with a black hemisphere for his sake.
• Inhabitants
• Leaks
• Neutrinos
• Nuclear fuel rods
• Radioactive leaks, which I truly hope not...
• Rescue or death - I await the answer with interest
• So many toilets - so little time
• Spy cameras
• Terrorists
• The clone he put there last week.
• The way forward
• Turkey
• TV
• Up [Yes. Also he’d be happy to find down, strange, top, and charming]
• Uranium
• With that amount of air escaping? He’s looking for his mouth (with his mouthpiece).
• Enlightenment

Q4 Which country are they in?

Ans Landmannalaugar, Iceland

• A sinful one that permits nude bathing!
• Amundsen-Scott base, South Pole, January 2022.
• Are you blind? Aruba.
• China
• Cuba. That is their synchronized swimming team. They can't afford indoor facilities. Can I have Iceland, too, so I don't have to submit 8 times?
• Don’t know, but would mind finding out !
• Greece
• Heaven. This picture was taken just before Jesus did a cannonball into the water.
• I bet it's a trick question. Probably the border goes right through the pond and Sven and Grace are on the other side.
• I will try to avoid the probably obvious. I... Ic... I...land, nope, it’s New Zealand. Whew! Successfully avoided. [Sorry]
• Iceland
• Iceland
• Iceland, and in fact at a geothermal swimming hole at Landmannalaugar.
• Iceland again (Landmannalaugar, in the south)
• Ireland
• Ireland where else
• Japan
• Judging by the surrounds, I think that they are somewhere in Greenland, or maybe Mexico or possibly Russia, probably St Petersburg, or not there but say, for you for today only, Turkey.
• Let's see, no sand so that eliminates most of the Middle East. No snow, so that eliminates both the north and south pole (Unless you're a fan of Al Gore pushing the Global Warming agenda). I don't see any guns, which pretty much lets out the USA. No white flags, so I can cross off France. Maybe I should just guess Iceland before I tick off I peeve any more of the world than we Yanks already do!
• Mongolia
• New Zealand
• New Zealand (cos they are all a little odd and i can see a sheep who that guy is eyeing off)
• Nirvana
• Probably Iceland, but I guess it could be near Taupo or Rotorua, New Zealand.
• Same answer as question one: Iceland.
• Saudi Arabia
• Scotland
• Sweden
• Tahiti
• The ones closest to us in the picture are in Australia. The rest are in Iceleand. This pond straddles the border.
• There are no countries on Mars as we are one homogeneous nation - Peace on Mars - Goodwill towards all Martians !!
• They're not in the country, Dr Bob, they're in the water. Can't you see? Oh, it's you who lost your glasses in the previous question. Cute legs. Not.
• Turkey, or [, speaking of turkeys,] where Bjork is from
• Wales
• Who cares? I don't know these people. They could be at the centre of the earth for all I care. [And they will be in a minute , if you’ve read Jules Verne’s book of that name]

Q5 Where is this possibly unique instance of a waterfall falling directly into the open sea?

Ans Savai’i, Western Samoa. But it is not unique, sorry.

• That's at the end of that river just over there. Can't you see it? Next to those trees. Under the sky. Just past those rocks. How specific to I have to get?
• Big Sur. Can I have Iceland, too so I don't have to submit 16 times. Oh yeah and since we had a Korea quiz can I have that, too so I don't have to submit 32 times. (Winter break is coming up so I could you know!)
• Brazil
• Canada
• China
• Difficult, it’s not in Asia nor Europe since the only seaside waterfalls there (Jongbang /Korea and Xallas/Spain or Düden/Turkey) are very different from your photo. In Latin America the Montezuma/Chorro waterfalls in Costa Rica comes a bit near but I think the best match is the Lobe waterfall in SW Cameroon (near Kribi)/ Africa. (There is also a bridge, seen by Google earth).
• Fiji
• France
• Godafoss in Iceland. Or not.
• Guatemala
• Hawaii
• Hmn, finally one with a clue! This "possibly unique instance of a waterfall falling directly into the open sea" must be Mfihlelo Falls in Africa! No, wait, they're much higher up. How about Dunn's River Falls in Jamaca? Cheju-Do Falls in South Korea? Or maybe Mizuuchi Falls in Japan? Chongbang Waterfall on Jeju Island claims to be the only one in Asia, so maybe Japan and South Korea are only imagining things. Waterfall Bluff in Africa boasts of being one of only three in the world that do that, but I think their math is a bit off. Bowen Falls in New Zealand? Hawaii has one, and California has one that "used to fall into the sea but now falls short". On second thought, maybe that clue wasn't all it seemed to be. [No it wasn’t, it was wrong - clearly my waterfall is not unique, despite what the tourist guides told me. It is unique - on Samoa].
• Iceland
• I'm certain it is unique. It would be too weird to have two of those exactly the same. As to where: since you have been to Korea recently I'm going to say California.
• I'm certain it is unique. That would be really weird to have two just like this.
• It's not unique, there is one in Prince William sound as well. And how do we know this is the sea anyway? You could just be making it up.
• Jungbang Waterfall - This is the only one falling directly to the sea in Korea. The 23 m-high waterfall has two streams of water. It produces the brisk sounds of water falling along the black wall, creating a splendid scene along with the ocean. Moreover, the neighboring precipitous cliffs and the stately old trees add to the unique scenic view of the waterfall. [Yes I see Jungbang does fall into the sea, and very scenic too but clearly a different location in my picture]
• Look, I'm disappointed. Here is a URL (http://www.istockphoto.com/file_closeup/where/locations/bodies_of_water/491919_moody_waterfall_into_the_sea.php ?id=491919waterfall_into_the_mediterranean_by_antalya_turkey.php?id=876361) showing a waterfall running into the Mediterranean by Antalya, Turkey. What does that do to your photo which only shows water falling into what could be a lake or river or even the Yarra. Not your best work. Did I distract you from the original question? Sly grin, smirk etc. [Well, in this photo the waterfall is not into the sea. I’ve been to Antalya, Turkey in 1978 but didn’t see this, or if I did I do not recall it. My photo is into the sea - I was there, it is my photo - if I could lie, I could put ‘What’s green and has wheels - grass, I lied about the wheels”.]
• Looks like far North Queensland but there aren't any Banana trees, then again, how many are left up there anyway?
• Near the sea
• Netherlands Antilles?
• No idea... South America?
• North Queensland
• Not unique anyway http://www.fotosearch.com/ATB406/bsa101/
• Obviously on Venus
• Scotland
• South america
• The beavers slacked off and didn't build a dam. Stupid beavers.
• The Vatican City? No wait..Austria?...Bhutan?
• Timor Leste. I was one on the Isle of Skye once I think.
• Uhh, there is a waterfall (name is ... Wattamolla? something like that) in the Royal National Park that falls directly into the open sea, but it's not this one.
• Unique? People pee in the ocean all the time. Is that not water falling into the open sea?
• Victoria Falls, Autumn 2021.

Q6 What happened to our agent in Germany? He was driving from Stuttgart to Regensburg, and being a keen entomologist, he was looking forward to visiting the Altmuehtal Nature Park on the way. He went East from Stuttgart on the B29, but in the woods between Aalen and Waldhausen there was a 5-way junction and he took the wrong turn. When he called me on his mobile phone for directions, he was on a road called Wendelinuss Strasse. I told him to keep driving ahead, and I heard the call fade momentarily as he passed under the bridges of the A7 autobahn. Then, half a minute later, he screamed "Wow" and the call went dead. What can have happened to him?

Ans They changed the bloody web page early in the month! See these ‘before and after” photos from Google Maps.

Before

After

• He encountered the giant google bug @ 48 51 27.74n 10 12 19.07E (actually it was in Lauchheimmer Strasse, between Arlesberg and Hulen) and glad to see the typo. Also seems the exterminators have been in.
• Your agent could have been eaten by a giant insect near the Aalener Gasse (between Arlesberg and Hülen) that by now has flown away (or he just was overwhelmed by the magnificent view he had on “Schloss Kapfenburg”).
• Ach! Ich habe die Strasse namen gegoolgen, aber ich kann nicht so gut Deutsche lesen. Und konnte ich sagen auch das er kommt aus die landesübergreifend mit Island? Dann kann ich nicht sich gefallen lassen die quiz 64 zeit.
• An interesting insect ate his mobile
• Battery dead on his mobile
• Bond, James Bond.
• Chunnel
• Clearly, he took your "keep driving ahead" instruction a bit too literally and wound up on Lauchheimer Strasse (Wendelinuss Strasse bends to the right and never actually crosses under the A7...). Shortly after passing under the autobahn he discovered much to his dismay that he was traveling the wrong way on a one way street. The fact that the "Wow" was screamed would lead me to guess that a truck coming the other way was his first clue.
• Drove off the bridge
• F'ing big tunnel.
• Got in the snow in the alps?
• Got me stumped here Dr Bob
• He climaxed!
• He discovered a new species of insect.
• He drove into the large pit mine in Wurttemberg.
• He drove into the Rhine
• He ended the phonecall
• He entered a parallel universe and is now in downtown Phobos
• He entered heaven
• He experienced a moment of excited surprise during which he accidentally pressed the red button on the phone. Yes I know it's the most boring answer you've received.
• He found what he was looking for and dropped the phone.
• He hung up the phone and continued driving, knowing you shouldn't drive whilst talking on a mobile phone.
• He met an interesting insect and it ate him
• He saw a hot girl, checked out her chest like any man would, crashed into a tree and died. WOW!
• He saw a really really big bug
• He saw the waterfall and dropped his phone, of course.
• He suddenly deduced the answer to a quiz question and had to hang up to use his phone's as a modem to submit a quiz answer.
• He thought of the answer to #3 (unlike me) and had to use his cell phone as a modem.
• He was distracted by an attractive voluptuous woman and drove into a wall.
• He was shocked at how fast the autobahn drivers were driving haha
• He went into a tunnel
• He went under the sea...
• Het got attacked by a gigantic bug, if you truly believe what Google Earth is showing you.
• In Hulen there lived a giant bug, or at least Google thought there was. Seems that there was a bug in the process that produced the picture.
• Is it the test track of the new very very fast german train? [No. Well, not intentionally]
• Something bit him and he dropped the phone. Shouldn't be on it while he is driving anyway.
• stopped in a gasthaus and had a liter of beer.
• talking on mobile
• The call was coming from inside the house!
• The police caught him for using a mobile phone whilst driving & upon flashing their lights he screamed "Wow" & to hide his sin, turned off his mobile.
• Went off the road into the dead end in the forest and either dropped his phone crashed into the trees.
• Wrong side of the road [But luckily, everyone else in Germany also does this]
• Nothing much. He went on to have a good time. Well overall anyway. Not everything went perfectly but then it never does, does it? A bit like this quiz.

Comments:

• Are you sure that Dr. Richard Dawkins isn't an Australian? He is nasty and blunt enough to be. [Why, thank you, Andrew. Prof Dawkins is not an Australian, but he has visited these southern shores and probably would like to become an Australian. The necessary operation is quite simple and painless. ButProf Dawkins is a very busy man and is better employed where he now is].
• A healthy and happy 2007, and keep on going with your nice work!
• Can we have some cricket questions (better than Q6). The TV is boring.
• Cool
• Dr Bob the builder, can he fix it? Well a dull day at work anyway, yeah.
• Get back to me
• Happy Christmas Doc!
• Happy New Year Yey, toot, toot, hic. Finally it's 1984. What? Did I blink or something? Doh!
• Have a Merry Christmas
• I love you
• I reckon I got 0 out of 5. About normal for me. [Oh no, you are quite mistaken … You got 0 out of 6]
• I want ,ore [Well we have plenty of it here in Australia. Did you want iron, manganese, uranium, or what sort? Alternatively, I’ll get my wife to send you some Swedish money, plenty of ore in that].
• I'm going to win this month because 396435 is my lucky number and I see it at the bottom of the page. (Unless the accuracy, or wittiness of the answers count).
• Interesting...
• I've had a few beers, sorry. [Oh surely you’re not - I’d be very happy after a few beers]
• Loved the Hulen bug question, spent a couple of hours finding the little bugger.
• May the creator cradle you in his noodly appendage this festive season.
• No idea at all but really enjoyed taking wild guesses
• Someone should give the answers all as pictures some month. That would teach you Dr. B. I'd do it except it would take effort. Do Hawley and Ross still participate? [Yes they still do, sometimes. I have still not had time to fulfil my promise made in Sept 2001 to construct the “best answers” and “Hall of fame” lists]
• Sorry I didn't take this seriously, I was lost.
• Thanks
• The computer seems to have pre-screened my comments as unacceptable last month. My rooster comments were so good I'm forced to repeat the ones I can remember. Maybe I should add a biblical verse . . . The Israelites said to Moses, "We will die! We are lost, we are all lost! Numbers 17:11-13 . . . Only put us quizlings instead of Israelites and Dr. Bob instead of Moses.
• The search for the man who terrorises nudist camps with a bacon slicer goes on. Inspector Lemuel Jones had a tip-off this morning, but hopes to be back on duty tomorrow.
• This is hard!
• This was crazy!
• Tough questions... but curiously interesting [Well , there you have succinctly grasped the purpose of the quiz. I was wondering about it myself]
• Very difficult quiz. Is there a trick to it?
• You are my kinda man
• You know you shouldn't ever write back: it only encourages people :)
• You're just bragging that you go on more fun holidays than the rest of us. Have a happy Christmas, and I hope your tactic whets people's creativity rather than just inspiring lots of dull, one or two word wrong answers