Giant Questions [Quiz #7]

Answers here

1. This Giant was born in France in 1946 and died there in 1993. Standing at over seven feet tall, he achieved fame in the world of professional wrestling as well as in Hollywood, where he may be best remembered for his role in The Princess Bride. Who was he?

2. This giant is one of the few animals that typically outlives humans. One of them named Harriet died in 2006, aged 176, in Australia, having been transported from the Galápagos shortly after Charles Darwin’s voyage there. The largest population of them today, well over 100,000, is in islands of the Aldabra Atoll in the Seychelles. Name this species.

3. This giant is said to be the world’s largest by volume, though not quite the tallest. One example, the General Sherman, found in the Sierra Nevada, stands at 84 meters (275 feet) high with a diameter of up to 12 meters (39 feet) at ground level. Name this species. [half a point, and another half for spelling it correctly]

4. This American giant, who died August 13, 2008, at age 53, reached over 7 feet, 7 inches tall. Recognized as the world’s tallest woman by the Guinness Book of World Records, she was the subject of a documentary as well as a song by New Zealand band Split Enz. Who was she?

5. This giant was the mythical lumberjack in many a tall tale dating back to the early years of the 20th century. His companion is a big blue ox. Name the giant and the ox. [half point each]

6. This Giant, known as the Say Hey Kid, swatted 660 home runs in a Major League baseball career that spanned the years 1951–1973. Name this Giant, and name the two cities where he played his home games. [half point each]

7. This Giant was ten feet (three meters) tall and made of stone. Named for the place (in New York state) that it was uncovered in 1869, it was thought to be either a petrified man or an ancient statue. Despite being revealed within months as a hoax, it and a replica created for P.T. Barnum continued to draw paying crowds for some time afterward.

8. This giant’s very name became synonymous with huge. He and his son Pantagruel are the subjects of five satirical 16th-century novels by François Rabelais, and his name was used for, among other things, a Marvel Comics villain and a creature in the video game Half Life. [must provide the exact name to get full credit]

9. These are things with giant in the name. Name them. [half a point each]

(a) 1956 film featuring the final performance by James Dean
(b) classic John Coltrane album
(c) Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, or Neptune, for example
(d) General Mills-owned food company whose mascot is jolly and says “ho ho ho” yet isn’t Santa.