The Daily Teaser …

Oh, Good Lord, you’d think Isaac Asimov had never been born!!

I’ve just heard a piece on Radio 4’s “Today” show; two researchers in AI and robotics, both arguing for guidelines on research into AI/robotic, and arguing that nobodies given any thought to robots going bonkers and killing people.

To quote the man, himself, “…that DAMN Frankenstein complex!”. After all, part of the reason Asimov came up with The Three Laws of Robotics was to emphasise the simple point that we’re all human.

And have this weird tendency to build stuff with safety features!

Shame we as a species, don’t come with them …

Any way, rant over!

Let’s move on, shall we?

Shall we?

Yes, lets!

Here’s today’s questions …

Q1) 3^rd August, 1852, saw the first US intercollegiate Boat Race, between Yale and Harvard; who won that?

Q2) August 3^rd, 1777, saw the opening of which Italian opera house?

Q3) More to the point, in which city is that opera house?

Q4) 3^rd August, 1978, saw the Queen open the 11^th Commonwealth Games; in which Canadian city was that?

Q5) The 3^rd of August is also the birthday of which Irish Eurovision presenter?

Q6) Today also marks the birth — in 1811 — of Elisha Gray Otis, the inventor of a revolutionary safety device for what … ?

Q7) 3^rd August, 1957, marks the day that Tunku Abdul Rahman was elected as head of state of where?

Q8) The 3^rd of August, 1936, saw Jesse Owens win Gold, at the Berlin Olympics; in which distance sprint?

Q9) Today is, obviously, the 3^rd of August, but what’s the year — in Roman Numerals?

Q10) And finally, today in 2008, saw the death of which Russian author?

And here’s yesterday’s questions and answers …

Q1) August 2^nd, 1990, saw the start of the 1^st Gulf War, when Iraq invaded which country?

A1) Kuwait.

Q2) August 2^nd, 1980, saw which Italian railway bombed by terrorists?

A2) Bologna.

Q3) A few years earlier, August 2^nd, 1932, saw the discovery of which sub-atomic particle?

A3) The positron. (It’s the anti-matter equivalent of the electron.)

Q4) Auagust 2^nd, 1939, was the birthday of director, Wes Craven; what was the name of his first film, back in 1972?

A4) “The Last House on the Left.”; famed for the tagline, “It’s ONLY a movie …”.

Q5) And finally; today in 1835 saw the birth of American inventer, Elisha Gray. Despite having 70 patents to his name, he came 2^nd in the race to create the … what?

A5) Telephone. (There’s still argument about who got to the patent office first!!)

I hope you enjoy them.

Catch you later!