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Any Questions #158

WAMC's Ian Pickus and resident quizzer Mike Nothnagel celebrate the start of season four.

Last week's challenge
Start with the two-word name of the author mentioned in today’s quiz, Geoffrey Chaucer’s, most famous work. Drop the N, rearrange the remaining letters and you can spell a two-word reason (5,9) why some wars might restart. What is the phrase?
Answer: CANTERBURY TALES becomes TRUCE BETRAYALS

THIS WEEK'S CATEGORY: GROUPS OF FOUR
On-air questions
: Happy Season Four! We've now officially had more seasons than the UK version of The Office and the original Star Trek series. Before they realize we're still on the air, let's get to this week's quiz which is all about groups of four.
1. Among the set of tiles used in a particular game are a group representing the four winds, one representing the four seasons, and one representing four flowers. These tiles are used to play what traditional Chinese game?
2. The Summer Olympics have been held in the United States on four occasions: in St. Louis in 1904, in Los Angeles in 1932 and 1984, and in which city in 1996?
3. Making their debut in the comics in 1961, the Fantastic Four was the first superhero team co-created by Stan Lee. The group includes Mr. Fantastic, the Human Torch, the Invisible Woman, and what creature, known for his trademark rocky appearance?
4. Released between 1977 and 1982, the albums commonly known as Car, Scratch, Melt, and Security (to differentiate them from one another) are all officially eponymous albums by what singer, who was replaced as lead singer in his former band by Phil Collins?
5. On the periodic table of the elements, there are four elements whose names begin with the letter I. Two of them are indium and iridium. What are the other two?

Extra credit
1. A group of four U.S. presidents appears on the reverse of several U.S. coins: three commemorative coins issued in 1991 and what other coin, issued in 2006?
2. As of 2012, four movies about Robert Ludlum's CIA assassin Jason Bourne have been released, each with a title of the form The Bourne _____. What four words end the titles of these films?

This week's challenge
Start with the word QUARTET. Change one letter to an S and you can rearrange the result to spell the hyphenated name of an instrument a draftsman might use. What is it?

ANSWERS
On-air questions
1. Mah jongg
2. Atlanta
3. The Thing
4. Peter Gabriel
5. Iodine, iron

Extra credit
1. South Dakota state quarter
2. Identity, Supremacy, Ultimatum, Legacy
 

A lifelong resident of the Capital Region, Ian joined WAMC in late 2008 and became news director in 2013. He began working on Morning Edition and has produced The Capitol Connection, Congressional Corner, and several other WAMC programs. Ian can also be heard as the host of the WAMC News Podcast and on The Roundtable and various newscasts. Ian holds a BA in English and journalism and an MA in English, both from the University at Albany, where he has taught journalism since 2013.