This one tickled me a bit. I was having a chat with an old quiz mate yesterday, and we were talking about our favourite QM cock ups. I trotted out my old favourite about Notting Hill being Europe’s largest carnivore, and then he told me this one, which I hadn’t heard before. The question was : -
Which American singer, who had several UK hits in the mid 60s, was notorious for splitting his trousers on stage?
The answer given was J.B.Priestley!
In case you’re not familiar with either, the singer was actually P.J. Proby. J.B. Priestley was a fine dramatist who wrote, amongst other things, “An Inspector Calls” , and was highly unlikely to have ever split his trousers on stage.
Just in case I’m laying myself open to hypocrisy by writing this, I should note that we are none of us immune to the odd howler on occasion. I had it politely pointed out to me that the answer to the question,
What was the nickname of singer Mel Tormé?
is actually The Velvet FOG, and not, as one of my kindle quiz books would have it, The Velvet FROG.
One careless slip of the finger on the keyboard . . .
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4 comments:
I often find it's the wrong answers that come from the slightest misunderstanding that prove to be the best ones. Like on Pointless recently, on a round about assassinations, the woman said 'JR' for 'shot by Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas', then realised after she said it what she'd done!
The Guardian, 10 June 1999, "Corrections and Clarifications":
"Readers of the obituary of Mel Tormé, page 18 of early editions June 7, may be glad to know that his nickname, which appeared in a headline as Velvet Frog, was corrected to Velvet Fog for later editions."
Hi Guys
Well well - me and the Grauniad. I'm not making it up, I did make the same slip up in one of my early quiz books.
I like the Dallas one!
If it's any consolation Dave, the very first quiz book I was given (as a Christmas present from a teacher) also contained a typo in an answer. I spotted it almost immediately!
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