One quiz at a time

[PhilW]

On Wednesday of next week, I plan to drink only champagne. Why?
On the 10th of February, I plan to drink only port

While I must applaud your endurance endeavour, I'm not sure I fancy your hangover and hydration levels after drinking onlyport for the entire day; only drinking champagne with its namby-pamby alcohol level would clearly be a trivial warm-up.

though off the top of my head I can't work out whether it should be a '48, or whether to try and find something from '49

Implying that you have bottle(s) from '48 in your cellar - lucky man Since you can't decide between '48 and '49, I'm guessing that this is a family member or friend who has a significant wedding anniversary next Wed, followed by their 65th birthday on Feb 10.

The only trouble is that doesn't explain the "off the top of my head I can't work out" part, implying some uncertainty about dates and/or need for a precise calculation, but it's my best guess so far; am hoping it might yield some hints for us.

[djewesbury]

Glenn, sorry, no.

Phil, I didn't mention water as it doesn't count. We drink water anyway.

Phil's guesses about occasions were wrong but this is by far the most significant contribution to the solution. Please pay careful attention to his guess.

I think Alex is possibly the only person on TPF with a direct connection to (half of) this.

[JWEW]

Is the drinking of Champagne corresponding to an anniversary of an event that took place in France?
Similarly, is the port drinking for an event in Portugal?

[djewesbury]

Is the drinking of Champagne corresponding to an anniversary of an event that took place in France?

Yes, would anyone care to be more specific?

Similarly, is the port drinking for an event in Portugal?

Not Portugal. I think of (vintage) port as it has come down to us today as being only in part a Portuguese drink.

[JWEW]

Think I can guess the French connection (Louis XVI) but it's not my go, so I won't.

[djewesbury]

And as it's not your turn I can't comment.

[Glenn E.]

Seriously? Not Death of a Salesman? I am gobsmacked.

Someone's head should roll!

[djewesbury]

Come along people. All the parts of the answer please. You must submit your working out in the answer book provided. Make sure to write your ID and desk numbers on the front of the paper. Mobile phones are - oh hang on…

[flash_uk]

OK so the champagne one is the anniversary of the death of Louis XVI. And then I will guess the port session is the anniversary of the death of Arthur Miller.

[djewesbury]

Louis XVI: yes.
Miller: no.
You will not find the other theme by Googling the second date, but it is well known. Please look at all the clues. And explain the link between the two parts of the answer.

[Glenn E.]

You will not find the other theme by Googling the second date, but it is well known.

Unpossible.

It seems the second date must be related to 1949 in some way. I would have guessed one of your parents birthdays, but you've already said it is not a birthday.

Not Portuguese, but the clue leaves open if not implies British. Also a possible connection to AHB. So possibly the anniversary of an event that happened in Britain, or was British in some way.

The 65th Anniversary of the closing of the last British detention camp on Cyprus?

I'm grasping at straws, as I can't see a possible connection to AHB there.

[djewesbury]

You will not find the other theme by Googling the second date, but it is well known.

Unpossible.

It seems the second date must be related to 1949 in some way. I would have guessed one of your parents birthdays, but you've already said it is not a birthday.

Not Portuguese, but the clue leaves open if not implies British. Also a possible connection to AHB. So possibly the anniversary of an event that happened in Britain, or was British in some way.

The 65th Anniversary of the closing of the last British detention camp on Cyprus?

I'm grasping at straws, as I can't see a possible connection to AHB there.

After all that rumination you ask that question? I can only allow you one question and I can only answer one, whether or not other parts of your working out were going in the right direction.

So, viz. the British in Cyprus, no.

Please read the question again.

[djewesbury]

On the 10th of February, I plan to drink only port, though off the top of my head I can't work out whether it should be a '48, or whether to try and find something from '49.

The first date, next Wednesday, has already been explained. The link with the drinks has been partially explained (maybe more).

[djewesbury]

Perhaps the AHB clue is no longer material. Perhaps. If you knew what it signified it might help you work out the second event but AHB has no direct connection to this answer that I know of.

You will not find the other theme by Googling the second date, but it is well known. Please look at all the clues. And explain the link between the two parts of the answer.

[Glenn E.]

Can anyone work out the themes that will be on my placemats, and what unites these themes?

These are the second and third questions. The first, which was why you would only be drinking Champagne on 1/21, has already been resolved.

I'm still working on the 2nd question.

[JWEW]

Are we looking for an event that occurred in both 1948 and 1949?

Ireland won the 5-nations rugby.

[djewesbury]

That is true: but no.
I don't remember being so specific about the years.
Remember that something needs to link the two dates.
I would have thought that once you'd guessed one the other would follow very logically.

[DRT]

What is the question?

[djewesbury]

See post 8294 and following. Unless you were simply being hilarious..?

[DRT]

See post 8294 and following.

Post 8294...

State of Mind: Becoming concerned about what will happen to my cellar when I'm gone. I know Julian will punctuate properly on the labels but will they be white on black and in an appropriate stencil font

If you leave me your cellar, I guarantee that they will be “white on black and in an appropriate stencil font†. What else do I need to say to win?

Would it be helpful to mention that yesterday’s 14oz filet steak was excellent meat, and perfectly uncooked? The accompanying hash browns were OK but not really worthy of following-day praise.

...and the question is?

[djewesbury]

Well it's post 8294 in Tapatalk. Have you lost the power of scrolling? A third of the question has been solved. You'll need to read all the clues. It's all above you. No, I mean really.

[DRT]

I am participating reluctantly. Scrolling feels like hard work.

[djewesbury]

Summarising the question, all the subsequent clues, the guesses and the general story so far seems the least I can do in these circumstances.
Previously, on One Quiz at a Time…
No. I'm sorry. I must desist.

[JWEW]

I don't remember being so specific about the years.
Remember that something needs to link the two dates.
.

Doh, no century was specified for the '48 and '49.

presumably 1848/49 are the relevant dates?

[djewesbury]

I don't remember being so specific about the years.
Remember that something needs to link the two dates.
.

Doh, no century was specified for the '48 and '49.

Quite so.

presumably 1848/49 are the relevant dates?

No...
When I said you won't find what the date signifies by googling it, I meant that whatever it is will not be connected with this date.
What was the theme of the first date? And what could be reasonably supposed, therefore, to link it with the second? Maybe working on part three will lead you to part two.

[JWEW]

My theory was the start and end of the 1st French Republic but can't see the link of drinking port to commemorate the end. Probably not my go either.

[djewesbury]

My theory was the start and end of the 1st French Republic but can't see the link of drinking port to commemorate the end. Probably not my go either.

I just checked and it isn't.

[djewesbury]

I should say that the link to port for the second date is less obvious / more tenuous than the link to champagne for the first. We have established that it simply connotes place in each case and that I don't think of port as exclusively a Portuguese invention.

[PhilW]

When I said you won't find what the date signifies by googling it, I meant that whatever it is will not be connected with this date. What was the theme of the first date? And what could be reasonably supposed, therefore, to link it with the second? Maybe working on part three will lead you to part two.

I had got this far, but found nothing while searching for relevant birth/marriage/death of Lous XVI or Marie Antoinette; on a wider search, 10th Feb was the day Pushkin died; I have no idea of a link between the two aside from "both death dates" and "both historical figures". Regarding the Champagne, Port and AHB connection my only thought was Alex's Quinquagenary which contained both, so the other alternative was an anniversary.

[AW77]

I think napoleonic troops occupied Portugal in the early 19th century. Is there a connection to this? Champagne for the start of the occupation and port for the end?

[djewesbury]

When I said you won't find what the date signifies by googling it, I meant that whatever it is will not be connected with this date. What was the theme of the first date? And what could be reasonably supposed, therefore, to link it with the second? Maybe working on part three will lead you to part two.

I had got this far, but found nothing while searching for relevant birth/marriage/death of Lous XVI or Marie Antoinette; on a wider search, 10th Feb was the day Pushkin died; I have no idea of a link between the two aside from "both death dates" and "both historical figures". Regarding the Champagne, Port and AHB connection my only thought was Alex's Quinquagenary which contained both, so the other alternative was an anniversary.

These are all interesting but quite beside the point.
What happened to Louis XVI on the first date?
Which '48/'49 might be relevant to the second date?
Why might it be impossible to search for this event in an 'On This Day' type of website?
Can you really not remember anything at all that you have learned about AHB, indeed you have learned it here in this very thread?
As I pointed out the clue about AHB would only help you solve the first date and that has been solved now.
A clue, that doesn't have any direct bearing on the main quiz, but which might point you in the right direction: on what date did the Battle of the Boyne take place?

[djewesbury]

I think napoleonic troops occupied Portugal in the early 19th century. Is there a connection to this? Champagne for the start of the occupation and port for the end?

Nope.

[PhilW]

These are all interesting but quite beside the point.
What happened to Louis XVI on the first date?
Which '48/'49 might be relevant to the second date?
Why might it be impossible to search for this event in an 'On This Day' type of website?
Can you really not remember anything at all that you have learned about AHB, indeed you have learned it here in this very thread?
As I pointed out the clue about AHB would only help you solve the first date and that has been solved now.
A clue, that doesn't have any direct bearing on the main quiz, but which might point you in the right direction: on what date did the Battle of the Boyne take place?

Oh well; I can see this is going to be painful
I never expected (no-one expects...) - is it the Spanish Inquisition?

[djewesbury]

These are all interesting but quite beside the point.
What happened to Louis XVI on the first date?
Which '48/'49 might be relevant to the second date?
Why might it be impossible to search for this event in an 'On This Day' type of website?
Can you really not remember anything at all that you have learned about AHB, indeed you have learned it here in this very thread?
As I pointed out the clue about AHB would only help you solve the first date and that has been solved now.
A clue, that doesn't have any direct bearing on the main quiz, but which might point you in the right direction: on what date did the Battle of the Boyne take place?

Oh well; I can see this is going to be painful
I never expected (no-one expects...) - is it the Spanish Inquisition?

NO!!!
Really - answer the simple question, designed to put you on the right track - what date did the Battle of the Boyne (aka the Twelfth of July) really take place on????
What could the connection be between event one (execution of Louis XVI) and event two???

[PhilW]

What happened to Louis XVI on the first date?

He died, due to his head not being connected to his body.

Which '48/'49 might be relevant to the second date?

No idea, except for previous guesses (approx. 65 year if 19xx, so birthday/retirement already suggested).

Why might it be impossible to search for this event in an 'On This Day' type of website?

Because it relates to a family member rather than a celebrity or historical figure, or because the event was not especially significant (assuming the former).

Can you really not remember anything at all that you have learned about AHB, indeed you have learned it here in this very thread?

Yes, he owns a mine in New Mexico. No, I'm not re-reading the entire thread! Perhaps he is distantly related to one of the people who form part of the answer?

As I pointed out the clue about AHB would only help you solve the first date and that has been solved now.

... to Louis XVI

A clue, that doesn't have any direct bearing on the main quiz, but which might point you in the right direction: on what date did the Battle of the Boyne take place?

1st July 1690.
Please, sir, can I have some water?

[PhilW]

These are all interesting but quite beside the point.
What happened to Louis XVI on the first date?
Which '48/'49 might be relevant to the second date?
Why might it be impossible to search for this event in an 'On This Day' type of website?
Can you really not remember anything at all that you have learned about AHB, indeed you have learned it here in this very thread?
As I pointed out the clue about AHB would only help you solve the first date and that has been solved now.
A clue, that doesn't have any direct bearing on the main quiz, but which might point you in the right direction: on what date did the Battle of the Boyne take place?

Oh well; I can see this is going to be painful
I never expected (no-one expects...) - is it the Spanish Inquisition?

NO!!!

Well, I thought it was amusing anyway :p

Really - answer the simple question, designed to put you on the right track - what date did the Battle of the Boyne (aka the Twelfth of July) really take place on????

12th of July? What kind of funny new-fangled calendar are you using! See previous answer (and yes, I got the "potential offset between Gregorian vs JDAW Julian calendars" hint).

[djewesbury]

At last some proper answers. Go and lie down while I explain as I can tell nobody is going to get there.

The final clue, which was meant to enlighten you, has been answered correctly by Phil without any light apparently having been shed. The Battle of the Boyne did indeed take place on the 1st of July 1690; and yet it is commemorated on the 12th of July, as Phil has said, because of the shift in dates occasioned by the UK having subsequently adopted the Gregorian calendar.

So, the 10th of February is a date in the Gregorian calendar. But wait.. we've already established that the date might not be readily lookupable (Derek, if you report me to Apostrophe Crimes, I will never allow you to eat pork pie again) - not because it's a private occasion.. but because.. the date has changed because of the adoption of the Gregorian calendar.



So. What date might link to the years '48/'49, in any century, but presumably in the 18th or earlier, since it isn't a date in the Gregorian calendar, and might also be connected somehow to the execution of King Louis XVI?

What other country has a connection with Port other than Portugal?

What, off the top of your heads, might be the answer???

[PhilW]

So, the 10th of February is a date in the Gregorian calendar. But wait.. we've already established that the date might not be readily lookupable (Derek, if you report me to Apostrophe Crimes, I will never allow you to eat pork pie again) - not because it's a private occasion.. but because.. the date has changed because of the adoption of the Gregorian calendar.

Yep, I got that bit; and discovered that Guy Fawkes was executed on 31st Jan, for example - though I hadn't checked if I'd corrected the date in the right direction... but hadn't got further in connecting port, or '48/'49, yet.

[djewesbury]

30th January 1648.
In 1752, the calendar changed, from Julian to Gregorian.
In that year, the start of the year also changed: until 1752, the year began on Lady Day - the 25th March. That was New Year's Day.
The change to the Gregorian calendar meant also that New Year's Day was moved to the 1st of January.
Under the 'New Style' date, Charles was executed in 1649; and that is how it is recorded today. But at the time, it was 1648.
30 Jan 1648 (Old Style) = 10 Feb 1649 (New Style).
Champagne for a French king, Port for an English.
Simples.
I resign.

[djewesbury]

JWEW's turn, as he guessed the first bit correctly.

[PhilW]

Champagne for a French king, Port for an English.
Simples.
I resign.

Can we set some fireworks off?

[djewesbury]

Only if they're not Chinese.

[PhilW]

Only if they're not Chinese.

Because for that we have to wait for Feb 19th? Or can we do it 11 days earlier due to the UK calendar change, or 10days earlier for the French, or... nope, 12 days for the Chinese it seems... right, Feb 7th it is! Ah, no, bugger, it's related to lunar/solar cycles, ah well I have to wait.

[djewesbury]

:exhausted, older than I look, can't go on emoticon:

[djewesbury]

I must say Phil, I thought that a man with a logical brain and insight like yours would have got this tremendously simple quiz.

[JWEW]

JWEW's turn, as he guessed the first bit correctly.

Oh dear, I'll retire and attempt to think of a suitable question. If anyone else can think of one then please feel free to usurp me.

[PhilW]

On interesting thing I have learned from this question is that not all countries switch from Julian to Gregorian at the same time. A consequence of this is that different countries "lost" different numbers of days when switching due to the drift between the calendar methods for determining leap years.

In 1582 the calendars were defined to have a 10 day difference; this continued until 1700 when it increased to 11 days. Much of Europe changed from Julian to Gergorian in the period 1580-1610 (10 days skipped), but the UK only changed in 1752 (11 days shift); I can only imagine the dates between countries must have been confusing for that 150years.

30 Jan 1648 (Old Style) = 10 Feb 1649 (New Style).

I think the above means that at the 1648/1649 year change there was only a difference of 10 rather than 11 days; this would mean that 30 Jan 1648 (Old Style) = 9 Feb 1649 (New Style), which would mean you can drink your port a day earlier - hurrah!

[djewesbury]

On interesting thing I have learned from this question is that not all countries switch from Julian to Gregorian at the same time. A consequence of this is that different countries "lost" different numbers of days when switching due to the drift between the calendar methods for determining leap years.

In 1582 the calendars were defined to have a 10 day difference; this continued until 1700 when it increased to 11 days. Much of Europe changed from Julian to Gergorian in the period 1580-1610 (10 days skipped), but the UK only changed in 1752 (11 days shift); I can only imagine the dates between countries must have been confusing for that 150years.

30 Jan 1648 (Old Style) = 10 Feb 1649 (New Style).

I think the above means that at the 1648/1649 year change there was only a difference of 10 rather than 11 days; this would mean that 30 Jan 1648 (Old Style) = 9 Feb 1649 (New Style), which would mean you can drink your port a day earlier - hurrah!

Good lord, you're right! Huzzah. And Rachel's January abstemiousness will be a distant and unpleasant memory by then.
The other interesting thing about this is that when King Billy sailed from the Low Countries to Britain in 1688, he arrived before he left; at least, calendrically.

[jdaw1]

Have I yet grouched about the Gregorian calendar?

The Julian calendar started in 46 B.C.E. Later Pope Gregory corrected the error in the Julian accumulated since the Council of Nicaea in 325 C.E., rather than since the original Julian proclamation. During those 3.7 centuries the Julian calendar had, rounded, another 3 days of error. So the calendar is still three days wrong.

My campaign to correct this error has not yet quite reached critical mass.

This might be even tougher than the big-bottle campaign.

[djewesbury]

What would we call this new calendar? The Superjulian? The New Julian?