Quiz #20 - The need for speed
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Q 1 Which bird can fly the fastest?
A Peregrine falcon
The Falcon can reach speeds of 380 km/h when diving. When out for a Sunday flight they typically fly between 65 and 90 km/h.
Q 2 The cartoon character Speedy Gonzales was a ...?
A Mouse
Known as 'the fastest mouse in all Mexico' he was just one of the many Warner Brothers characters voiced by Mel Blanc.
Q 3 Which actress stared in the 1994 film Speed?
A Sandra Bullock
Bullock also starred in the sequel Speed 2: Cruise Control, released in 1997. The original film did well at the box office, reaping about $300 million worldwide, about 10 times its production budget.
The sequel, on the other hand, received 8 nominations for a Razzie Award. The Razzies are devoted to the worst in film, with Bullock nominated for Worst Actress.
Bullock is one of the few actors to actually turn up at the Razzies to accept an award, in the following video it was for 'Worst Actress' in the 2009 film All About Steve.
Q 4 How fast does the Earth rotate?
A 1675 km/h
At the Equator the speed is 1675 km/h. That is just under 500 metres every second.
Q 5 Who is (as at Feb 2016) the world's fastest sprinter?
A Usain Bolt
Bolt set the record for the fastest 100m sprint in Berlin on August 16, 2009. This stands at 9.58 seconds.
In Manchester in the same year he reached a running speed of 41 km/h while setting the record for the fastest 100 metres from a running start.
The other three in the list have all run times within 0.2 seconds of Bolt's record.
Q 6 What is the world record for solving a Rubik's cube (approx)?
A 5 seconds
The official world record is 4.9 seconds. Master cubists typically solve the cube in under 20 seconds, with some consistently breaking 10 seconds.
The official record for a robot to solve the cube is 0.9 seconds.
Q 7 What is the world's faster production car?
A Bugatti Veyron Super Sport
The Super Sport reached a top speed of 435km/h
The Hennessey Venom GT doesn't yet qualify for a Guinness world record despite having done a single run exceeding 435km/h. The Venom has also not sold quite enough cars to qualify as 'production'.
The F1 did hold the record of 370 km/h from 1993 until 2005, and still holds the record for the world's fastest naturally aspirated production car. The Veyron has quad turbo-chargers, while the F1 has none.
Q 8 Who said, "They are fast. Faster than you can believe. Don't turn your back. Don't look away. And don't blink."
A The Doctor
The Doctor was referring to Weeping Angels featured in the Episode Blink. I'll let him explain:
Q 9 What is N-methyl-alpha-methylphenethylamine or C10H15N more commonly known as?
A Speed
It is also know as meth, ice, P, pure, base, crank, crack. The substance is highly addictive and wreaks havoc on the nervous system. The Drug Foundation has a page of advice.
Q 10 Does sound travel faster in water or air?
A Water
4.3 times faster in fact. The following video does not demonstrate this, but does show how water sculptures can be created with low frequency sound.