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Any Questions #251

WAMC's Ian Pickus and resident quizzer Mike Nothnagel try cool off with a quiz about ice.

Last week's challenge
Start with the phrase SWEDISH CAR. Rearrange the letters into two five-letter words that can complete this sentence: As the basketball player's shot _____ through the air, he knew it would be a _____ .
Answer: The words are ARCED and SWISH.

THIS WEEK'S CATEGORY: "-ICE"
On-air questions: On June 17, 1944, Iceland formally became an independent republic. Under the control of the Crown of Denmark since the late 1300s, Iceland became a kingdom (still ruled by the Danish king) in 1918 under the Danish-Icelandic Act of Union. When the Act expired 25 years later, ties with the monarchy were severed and a new constitution was adopted. To celebrate Iceland's independence, this week each correct answer will end with the letters I C E.

1. Who was a professor of political science at Stanford University, the provost of Stanford University from 1993 to 1999, the National Security Advisor from 2001 to 2005, and Secretary of State from 2005 to 2009?
2. The organist for the Clearwater Phillies, the keyboardist for the Amarillo Texans, and the Daytona Cubs public address announcer have all been ejected from baseball games for playing what children's rhyme to protest a perceived bad call, a song frequently used as a taunt before a fourth umpire was required for all games?
3. While it more precisely refers to the instant when the sun is at its highest point in the sky, what term is often used for the entire day in June on which this highest point occurs in the northern hemisphere?
4. Often criticized for its apparent anti-Semitic themes, what Shakespeare play introduced us to the phrase "a pound of flesh", used literally in the play as the price demanded by Shylock for failure to repay a loan by a specified date?
5. There are two James Bond films that fit the category. One is the 1967 installment starring Sean Connery and its follow-up, the 1969 film that was the only one starring George Lazenby as James Bond. What two films are these?

Extra credit
1. The stage names of Melanie Brown, Melanie Chisholm, Emma Bunton, Geri Halliwell, and Victoria Beckham all have what word in common?
2. The motto of what agency, which employs some 11,000 constables among its 28,000 personnel members, is "Maintiens le droit," (meaning "defending the law")?

This week's challenge
Start with the phrase BREAK THE ICE. Change one letter to a G and you can rearrange the result to spell a three-word phrase (three letters, four letters, four letters) that you might say to someone who is walking away from you. What is it?

ANSWERS
On-air questions
1. Condoleezza Rice
2. "Three Blind Mice"
3. Summer solstice
4. The Merchant of Venice
5. You Only Live Twice, On Her Majesty's Secret Service

Extra credit
1. Spice
2. Royal Canadian Mounted Police
 

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.