Gratuitous Use of the Word Belgium

January 13-14, 2006

Answers to the Belgium Hour Bonus

Fictional Belgians

Hercule Poirot

1 *Sirop de cassis* (black currant liqueur).

2 Achille Poirot.

3 A hairdresser.

4 *The Mysterious Affair at Styles.*

5 His little grey cells.

6 The picture should be (a) geometrical, and (b) symmetrical. Any fluffy couches or decorative knickknacks will render this answer incorrect.

Tintin

1 "Ligne claire" or "clear line."

2 None.

3 Since they were born.

4 Captain Haddock and Snowy (Tintin's dog).

5 It looks like a shark.

6 Al Capone.

The Smurfs

1 Les Schtroumpfs.

2 By either being bitten by a purple fly or being bitten (on the tail) by a purple Smurf. They say "GNAP! GNAP! GNAP!"

3 Three apples tall.

4 Smurfette.

Real Belgians

The Actor

1 Jean-Claude Van Damme.

2 "The Muscles from Brussels."

3 "Timecop."

4 By watching "The Flintstones."

The Performer

1 Jacques Brel.

2 "Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris."

3 "Man of La Mancha."

4 "Seasons in the Sun."

The Musician

1 The Singing Nun, or Soeur Sourire, or Sister Smile, or Sister Luc-Gabrielle, or Luc Dominique, OR Jeanne Deckers.

2 "Dominique," about St. Dominic, founder of the Dominican Order.

3 "Glory Be to God for the Golden Pill," a paean to birth control.

4 In a suicide pact with her lesbian lover.

The Other Musician

1 Django Reinhart.

2 He was in a caravan fire, and his left hand was so badly burned that his last two fingers became entirely useless – so he figured out how to play using only two fingers and a thumb.

3 "The Matrix."

4 "The Triplets of Belleville."

Belgian Painting

1 Jan van Eyck, "Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and His Wife"

2 Pieter Brueghel, "Peasant Wedding"

3 Peter Paul Rubens, "The Four Continents"

4 James Ensor, "Christ's Entry into Brussels in 1889"

5 Rene Magritte, "Son of Man"

Belgian Statuary

1 Peeing.

2 A small girl peeing.

3 Throwing a severed hand.

4 Reading a book while pouring a mug of beer over its head.

Belgium in History

1 "Gallant Little Belgium."

2 Belgium did not, technically, have any relationship with the Congo in the 1800s - it was instead the personal property of King Leopold II from 1885 until 1908, when he finally turned it over to the Belgian government.

3 A poppy, "In Flanders Fields."

4 "On the playing fields of Eton," "on the playing fields of Elkton."

Belgian Miscellany

1 Gerardus Mercator.

2 Lady Godiva.

3 Bakelite – the first plastic.

4 Georges Simenon.

5 Liz Claiborne.

6 French fries.

7 The Big Bang theory.

8 Tongeren.

9 Dr. Evil.

10 Bill Clinton; a waffle.

11 Adolphus Sax; the saxophone.

12 The Smurf village.

13 "Miserable Fat Belgian Bastards."

14 Extra credit: "I think the relevant question is why wouldn't you? Bel-gium!"

Back to Contest Main Page

1	Sirop de cassis (black currant liqueur).
2	Achille Poirot.
3	A hairdresser.
4	The Mysterious Affair at Styles.
5	His little grey cells.
6	The picture should be (a) geometrical, and (b) symmetrical. Any fluffy couches or decorative knickknacks will render this answer incorrect.

1	"Ligne claire" or "clear line."
2	None.
3	Since they were born.
4	Captain Haddock and Snowy (Tintin's dog).
5	It looks like a shark.
6	Al Capone.

1	Les Schtroumpfs.
2	By either being bitten by a purple fly or being bitten (on the tail) by a purple Smurf. They say "GNAP! GNAP! GNAP!"
3	Three apples tall.
4	Smurfette.

1	Jean-Claude Van Damme.
2	"The Muscles from Brussels."
3	"Timecop."
4	By watching "The Flintstones."

1	Jacques Brel.
2	"Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris."
3	"Man of La Mancha."
4	"Seasons in the Sun."

1	The Singing Nun, or Soeur Sourire, or Sister Smile, or Sister Luc-Gabrielle, or Luc Dominique, OR Jeanne Deckers.
2	"Dominique," about St. Dominic, founder of the Dominican Order.
3	"Glory Be to God for the Golden Pill," a paean to birth control.
4	In a suicide pact with her lesbian lover.

1	Django Reinhart.
2	He was in a caravan fire, and his left hand was so badly burned that his last two fingers became entirely useless – so he figured out how to play using only two fingers and a thumb.
3	"The Matrix."
4	"The Triplets of Belleville."

1	Jan van Eyck, "Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and His Wife"
2	Pieter Brueghel, "Peasant Wedding"
3	Peter Paul Rubens, "The Four Continents"
4	James Ensor, "Christ's Entry into Brussels in 1889"
5	Rene Magritte, "Son of Man"

1	Peeing.
2	A small girl peeing.
3	Throwing a severed hand.
4	Reading a book while pouring a mug of beer over its head.

1	"Gallant Little Belgium."
2	Belgium did not, technically, have any relationship with the Congo in the 1800s - it was instead the personal property of King Leopold II from 1885 until 1908, when he finally turned it over to the Belgian government.
3	A poppy, "In Flanders Fields."
4	"On the playing fields of Eton," "on the playing fields of Elkton."

1	Gerardus Mercator.
2	Lady Godiva.
3	Bakelite – the first plastic.
4	Georges Simenon.
5	Liz Claiborne.
6	French fries.
7	The Big Bang theory.
8	Tongeren.
9	Dr. Evil.
10	Bill Clinton; a waffle.
11	Adolphus Sax; the saxophone.
12	The Smurf village.
13	"Miserable Fat Belgian Bastards."
14	Extra credit: "I think the relevant question is why wouldn't you? Bel-gium!"