WAMC's Ian Pickus and resident quizzer Mike Nothnagel take a trip on the London Underground.
Last week's challenge
Think of a 10-letter word starting with P associated with the number 100. Change that P to an I, and you can rearrange the result to spell a hyphenated term for a relative. What is the word and who is the relative?
Answer: The word is PERCENTAGE, and following the directions, you can spell GREAT-NIECE.
THIS WEEK'S CATEGORY: THE LONDON UNDERGROUND
On-air questions: On August 2, 1870, the Tower Subway opened, becoming the first underground tube railway. As its name implies, it went under the River Thames near the Tower of London. (It's not used for passenger travel anymore.) To commemorate the opening of that subway, this week our questions are about London’s current subway system: the Underground.
1. In Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, headmaster Albus Dumbledore has a scar on his left knee which is "a perfect map of the London Underground." Of what school is Dumbledore the headmaster?
2. Usually, the Underground runs 24 hours a day only at New Year's. However, the subways stayed open all night for two days in the summer of 2012. For what special events was this special schedule used?
3. The longest escalator in the entire Underground is at Angel Station on the Northern line. In 2007, a Norwegian winter sports enthusiast did what down the entire 60-meter length of that escalator?
4. The walls of Leytonstone station on the Central line feature a series of murals depicting iconic scenes from movies directed by what famous English director, born in Leytonstone in 1899?
5. What three-word phrase, used by other subway systems but most closely associated with the London underground, was originally recorded and put into use in 1968?
Extra credit
1. The song "Waterloo Sunset," which contains the lyrics "Millions of people swarming like flies round Waterloo Underground", was written and produced by the lead singer of what band, which released the song in 1967?
2. The main section of the Underground's Circle line annually plays a role in what type of event, where riders are challenged to disembark at each station, visit a particular establishment, reboard the train to the next stop, and continue in such fashion 27 times until arriving back at their point of origin?
This week's challenge
Start with the phrase MIND THE GAP. Change one letter to an S then rearrange the result to spell a word starting with S that names an action that would most likely be unsafe in a subway tunnel. What is the word?
ANSWERS
On-air questions
1. Hogwarts
2. The opening and closing ceremonies of the 2012 Summer Olympics
3. Skied
4. Alfred Hitchcock
5. "Mind the gap"
Extra credit
1. The Kinks
2. Pub crawl
