29th Annual Xmas Quiz Answers

Days have passed, and perhaps you have forgotten all about the plucky 29th Annual Xmas Quiz, or perhaps you have been waiting with breath abated for the answers. Ah, wait no more; pull out that tattered old newspaper or Web page, and read along with me as I reveal the solutions to all remaining mysteries except the one about what song the sirens sang to Odysseus.

1. The Blue House is the residence of the president of South Korea.

2. Blue Ribbon Sports is now called Nike. BackRub is now called Google. Delirium Vulgaris is now called Swatch. Baby Gays are now called Q-tips. Soundabout became the Sony Walkman. Pocketlink is now BlackBerry. Pants and Discs are now Gap. Brad's Drink is now Pepsi-Cola. Dippy Dawg was the original name of the Disney cartoon character Goofy.

3. The first U.S. state due north of Panama City is South Carolina. The first country due east of Panama City is Colombia. The first country due south of Panama City is also Colombia. The first non-Central American country due west of Panama City is the Philippines.

4. Sticklebract, Tettnanger, Saaz, Fuggles, Warrior and Magnum are all varieties of hops used in brewing beer.

5. Audrey Hepburn, David Niven, Paulette Goddard and James Mason are all buried in Switzerland. I could have added Charlie Chaplin, but that would have made it too easy.

6. Alligator, Wolf, Tiger, Rosebud and Lightning Bolt are, chronologically, the names of Jerry Garcia's guitars.

7. Cuervo means "crow" or "raven" in Spanish.

8. Thomas Woodward is Tom Jones, Maurice Micklewhite is Michael Caine, Reginald Dwight is Elton John, Gordon Sumner is Sting and Richard Starkey is Ringo Starr. They are each members of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, bestowed by Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor, better known by her stage name, Elizabeth II.

9. Fala was a much-photographed dog owned by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Asta was another much-photographed dog, owned by Nick and Nora Charles in the Thin Man movies. Asta's real name was Skippy. I first asked this question 25 years ago and got an angry e-mail saying that my quiz was too easy. We shall see what a quarter century hath wrought.

10. The animal is a salmon. Interestingly, salmon are born in a redd, a shallow, sandy depression dug by the mother before she lays the eggs. There is no extra credit for knowing this.

11. You are in Lima, Peru. Congratulations!

12. "Island Landfalls" was written by Robert Louis Stevenson. "The Man With the Night Sweats" was written by Thom Gunn. "The British Museum Is Falling Down" was written by David Lodge. "Arcadia" was written by Tom Stoppard. "Alias Grace" was written by Margaret Atwood. So there you are; one Scotsman, one Canadian, three Englishmen. One play, one book of poetry, three novels. Four men, one woman. Next time, these really should have a theme.

13. They are each cousins. Cathy Lane is the cousin of Patty Duke on the "Patty Duke Show." Slowpoke Rodriguez is the cousin of Speedy Gonzales is in the now little-seen (on merit) cartoons; Goober Pyle is the cousin of Gomer Pyle on guess what; and Gus Goose is the cousin of Donald Duck. Clearly, some ornithological hanky-panky was taking place.

14. Boring, Drain, Half.com, Zigzag and Idiotville are names of towns in Oregon. Half.com was originally just Half, but agreed to change its name in exchange for considerations as part of publicity stunt.

15. Utah is the Beehive State. North Dakota is the Peace Garden state. (Who knew?) Missouri is the Show Me state. Kansas is the Sunflower State. North Carolina is both the Tarheel State and the Old North State. Nevada is the Sagebrush State, the Battle Born State and the Silver State.

Them's the answers; let the quarreling and the quibbling begin. I do so look forward to that part. No doubt another column is coming with culpas of the mea kind.

Special thanks this time go to Nancy Friedman, Scott Underwood, Katie Rosenfeld and her daughter, William A. Grant and the indispensable Richard Glasson.

Goneril: His knights grow riotous, and himself upbraids us on every trifle - when he returns from hunting, I will not speak with him, say I am sick - I am still mightily cheesed off about the Goober Pyle question. Tell him I said so, the jcarroll@sfchronicle.com.