'Sherlock by the Numbers' quiz expanded answers
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1. How many people in the canon have gray eyes?
a. 0
b. 3
c. 21
d. 90
Answer: c-21 - Twenty-one people have gray eyes, including brothers Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes and Professor James Moriarty. In all my life, I don't think I've ever seen a pair of gray eyes. Makes me wonder what color eyes Doyle had, or maybe it was his wife who had the gray ones.
2. How many of the original stories were written in the third person?
a. 0
b. 1
c. 2
d. 90
Answer: c-2 - Both His Last Bow and The Mazarin Stone were written in the third person (perhaps Watson didn't want to claim the latter?).
3. How many stories did Holmes write himself?
a. 0
b. 1
c. 2
d. 90
Answer: c-2 - The Blanched Soldier and The Lion's Mane
4. Besides Holmes himself, how many different lawmen are mentioned in the canon by name?
a. 5
b. 15
c. 20
d. 90
Answer: c-20 - Inspectors Lestrade and Tobias Gregson are introduced to the world in the same story as Mr. Sherlock Holmes himself—A Study in Scarlet; Detective Athelney Jones appears in The Sign of Four; Inspector Gregory distinguishes himself in Silver Blaze; Inspector Bradstreet is mentioned in The Blue Carbuncle and appears in both The Man with the Twisted Lip and The Engineer's Thumb; Inspector Forrester is involved with The Reigate Puzzle; Inspector Martin, not a Scotland Yarder, is found in The Dancing Men; Inspector MacDonald struts his stuff in The Valley of Fear; Inspector Bardle, a country officer, does his stuff in The Lion's Mane; Inspector MacKinnon makes his appearance in The Retired Colourman; Inspector Stanley Hopkins is directly involved in The Golden Pince-Nez, Black Peter, and The Abbey Grange and indirectly in The Missing Three-Quarter; Inspector Baynes of the Surrey Constabulary makes an impression on Holmes in Wisteria Lodge; The Dancing Men makes mention of Inspector Hargreave; Policeman Peter Jones is in The Red-Headed League; Inspector Morton aids Holmes in The Dying Detective; Inspector Lanner doesn't do much in The Resident Patient; the taciturn private investigator Mr. Barker appears in The Retired Colourman.; the Red Circle features Mr. Leverton of the Pinkerton Detective Agency; and Holmes sends a telegram to his "friend, Algar, of the Liverpool force," in The Cardboard Box.
5. In how many stories does Ins. Lestrade's name appear?
a. 9
b. 14
c. 21
d. 90
Answer: b-14 -A Study in Scarlet, The Second Stain, The Noble Bachelor, The Boscombe Valley Mystery, The Cardboard Box, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Charles Augustus Milverton, The Empty House, The Norwood Builder, The Bruce-Partington Plans, The Six Napoleons, and His Last Bow see Lestrade in person, and just his name is mentioned in The Sign of Four and The Three Garridebs.
6. In how many stories does Ins. Gregson appear?
a. 3
b. 5
c. 8
d. 90
Answer: a-3 - A Study in Scarlet, The Greek Interpreter, The Sign of Four
7. How many time is Holmes described as rubbing his hands?
a. 12
b. 19
c. 27
d. 90
Answer: b-19 - Holmes rubs his hands (with or without "together") 19 times, once "with high glee", once "with delight", once "with the joy of action", and several times while chuckling.
8. In how many stories do the Irregulars appear?
a. 3
b. 5
c. 8
d. 90
Answer: a-3 – The boys descend upon Baker Street in A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of Four, and in The Crooked Man one of them delivers a message to Holmes.
9. How many Irregulars are mentioned by name?
a. 0
b. 2
c. 4
d. 90
Answer: b-2 – Holmes talks to Wiggins in A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of Four and to Simpson in The Crooked Man.
10. In how many stories is Mrs. Hudson seen or mentioned by name?
a. 13
b. 17
c. 20
d. 90
Answer: a-13 – Holmes' venerable landlady is seen in 12, but is also mentioned in one other. The Second Stain, The Naval Treaty, The Valley of Fear, The Sign of Four, The Blue Carbuncle, Wisteria Lodge, The Empty House, The Mazarin Stone, Black Peter, The Dancing Men, The Three Garridebs, and The Dying Detective see her in the flesh, and she is referred to in The Disappearance of Lady Francis Carfax. Her only description is that she has a "crisp knock" (The Sign of Four), and perhaps she is the unnamed landlady with a "stately tread" in A Study in Scarlet.
11. How many times does Holmes use Toby the dog to help him solve a case?
a. 1
b. 3
c. 4
d. 90
Answer: a-1 - The Sign of Four
12. How many women named Violet show up in the canon?
a. 1
b. 2
c. 4
d. 90
Answer: c-4 – The four ladies are Violet Smith in The Copper Beeches, Violet Hunter in The Solitary Cyclist, Violet Westbury in The Bruce-Partington Plans, and Violet de Merville in the Illustrious Clients. And no, Violet wasn't in the top ten of the most popular girls' names during those years.
13. How many times does Holmes say, "It's elementary, my dear Watson?"
a. 0
b. 6
c. 14
d. 90
Answer: a-0 – Surprised, aren't you?
14. How many times does Holmes use the word 'elementary?'
a. 1
b. 5
c. 7
d. 90
Answer: c-7 – once each in A Study in Scarlet, The Crooked Man, A Case of Identity, Wisteria Lodge, and The Disappearance of Lady Francis Carfax, and twice in The Hound of the Baskervilles
15. How many years older than Sherlock is Mycroft?
a. 5
b. 7
c. 10
d. 90
Answer: b-7
16. In how many stories is Holmes described as sitting with his fingertips together?
a. 2
b. 8
c. 16
d. 90
Answer: a-2 - The Norwood Builder and The Valley of Fear
17. How many times is Holmes' violin referred to as a fiddle?
a. 0
b. 4
c. 9
d. 90
Answer: b-4 - three times in A Study in Scarlet and once in The Mazarin Stone
18. In how many stories does Doyle describe Holmes as wearing an Inverness cape and deerstalker cap?
a. 0
b. 5
c. 11
d. 90
Answer: a-0 – Though it is true that in The Copper Beaches he dons a travelling-cape and close-fitting cloth cap. The iconic cape and deerstalker were added by the original illustrator Sydney Paget.
19. How many people say 'tut tut' in the canon?
a. 0
b. 2
c. 5
d. 90
Answer: c-5 - Five different people say "Tut, tut!", including Moriarty in The Final Problem and Holmes, who uses it himself in four different stories (The Valley of Fear, The Boscombe Valley Mystery, Black Peter, and The Priory School).
20. In how many stories does Billy the page appear?
a. 3
b. 6
c. 9
d. 90
Answer: a-3 - Billy serves Holmes in The Valley of Fear, The Mazarin Stone ("the fresh and smiling face of Billy, the young but very wise and tactful page"), and The Problem of Thor Bridge. There is also an unnamed page boy in The Yellow Face, The Noble Bachelor, and The Naval Treaty that probably isn't Billy. If Billy's young in The Mazarin Stone (1894), then he would be young indeed in The Yellow Face (1884) ten years previously. The Noble Bachelor and The Naval Treaty take place only three years later in 1887, so it's highly doubtful that this lad is Billy, either.
21. How many different dressing-gowns is Holmes described as wearing (by color)?
a. 1
b. 3
c. 5
d. 90
Answer: b-3 - Once it's blue (The Man with the Twisted Lip), once it's purple (The Blue Carbuncle), and twice it's mouse-colored (The Empty House and The Bruce-Partington Plans); the other times it isn't described at all (The Resident Patient, The Beryl Coronet, The Naval Treaty, The Engineer's Thumb, The Cardboard Box, The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Final Problem, and The Mazarin Stone). Once, Watson isn't sure how to spell it and leaves out the hyphen, so Holmes is in a dressing gown in The Valley of Fear. Also in the Valley of Fear we find a male murder victim clad in a pink dressing gown. Just so ya know.
22. In how many stories does Mycroft's name appear?
a. 2
b. 4
c. 8
d. 90
Answer: b-4 - Mycroft's only real cases are The Greek Interpreter and The Bruce-Partington Plans, but he is also briefly and indirectly involved in The Final Problem and talked about in The Empty House.
23. In how many stories does Prof. James Moriarty appear or receive mention?
a. 2
b. 5
c. 7
d. 90
Answer: c-7 - Professor James Moriarty first shows up in The Valley of Fear and then not again until The Final Problem. He's also in The Empty House and receives mention in The Norwood Builder, The Missing Three-Quarter, The Illustrious Client, and His Last Bow.
24. Including the Professor, how many Moriarty brothers are there?
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 90
Answer: c-3 – Professor James Moriarty's brother Col. James Moriarty (forgetting ourselves, are we, Doyle?) is mentioned in The Final Problem. A younger Moriarty brother, first name unknown (surely not also James), is mentioned in The Valley of Fear. He works as a station-master in the West of England.
25. How many times does Holmes say, "My dear Watson?"
a. 0
b. 11
c. 16
d. 90
Answer: d-90 – It had to be the right answer once, didn't it? Though 90 is a lot of times, "my dear Watson" isn't in every story.
1. How many people in the canon have gray eyes?
a. 0
b. 3
c. 21
d. 90
Answer: c-21 - Twenty-one people have gray eyes, including brothers Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes and Professor James Moriarty. In all my life, I don't think I've ever seen a pair of gray eyes. Makes me wonder what color eyes Doyle had, or maybe it was his wife who had the gray ones.
2. How many of the original stories were written in the third person?
a. 0
b. 1
c. 2
d. 90
Answer: c-2 - Both His Last Bow and The Mazarin Stone were written in the third person (perhaps Watson didn't want to claim the latter?).
3. How many stories did Holmes write himself?
a. 0
b. 1
c. 2
d. 90
Answer: c-2 - The Blanched Soldier and The Lion's Mane
4. Besides Holmes himself, how many different lawmen are mentioned in the canon by name?
a. 5
b. 15
c. 20
d. 90
Answer: c-20 - Inspectors Lestrade and Tobias Gregson are introduced to the world in the same story as Mr. Sherlock Holmes himself—A Study in Scarlet; Detective Athelney Jones appears in The Sign of Four; Inspector Gregory distinguishes himself in Silver Blaze; Inspector Bradstreet is mentioned in The Blue Carbuncle and appears in both The Man with the Twisted Lip and The Engineer's Thumb; Inspector Forrester is involved with The Reigate Puzzle; Inspector Martin, not a Scotland Yarder, is found in The Dancing Men; Inspector MacDonald struts his stuff in The Valley of Fear; Inspector Bardle, a country officer, does his stuff in The Lion's Mane; Inspector MacKinnon makes his appearance in The Retired Colourman; Inspector Stanley Hopkins is directly involved in The Golden Pince-Nez, Black Peter, and The Abbey Grange and indirectly in The Missing Three-Quarter; Inspector Baynes of the Surrey Constabulary makes an impression on Holmes in Wisteria Lodge; The Dancing Men makes mention of Inspector Hargreave; Policeman Peter Jones is in The Red-Headed League; Inspector Morton aids Holmes in The Dying Detective; Inspector Lanner doesn't do much in The Resident Patient; the taciturn private investigator Mr. Barker appears in The Retired Colourman.; the Red Circle features Mr. Leverton of the Pinkerton Detective Agency; and Holmes sends a telegram to his "friend, Algar, of the Liverpool force," in The Cardboard Box.
5. In how many stories does Ins. Lestrade's name appear?
a. 9
b. 14
c. 21
d. 90
Answer: b-14 -A Study in Scarlet, The Second Stain, The Noble Bachelor, The Boscombe Valley Mystery, The Cardboard Box, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Charles Augustus Milverton, The Empty House, The Norwood Builder, The Bruce-Partington Plans, The Six Napoleons, and His Last Bow see Lestrade in person, and just his name is mentioned in The Sign of Four and The Three Garridebs.
6. In how many stories does Ins. Gregson appear?
a. 3
b. 5
c. 8
d. 90
Answer: a-3 - A Study in Scarlet, The Greek Interpreter, The Sign of Four
7. How many time is Holmes described as rubbing his hands?
a. 12
b. 19
c. 27
d. 90
Answer: b-19 - Holmes rubs his hands (with or without "together") 19 times, once "with high glee", once "with delight", once "with the joy of action", and several times while chuckling.
8. In how many stories do the Irregulars appear?
a. 3
b. 5
c. 8
d. 90
Answer: a-3 – The boys descend upon Baker Street in A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of Four, and in The Crooked Man one of them delivers a message to Holmes.
9. How many Irregulars are mentioned by name?
a. 0
b. 2
c. 4
d. 90
Answer: b-2 – Holmes talks to Wiggins in A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of Four and to Simpson in The Crooked Man.
10. In how many stories is Mrs. Hudson seen or mentioned by name?
a. 13
b. 17
c. 20
d. 90
Answer: a-13 – Holmes' venerable landlady is seen in 12, but is also mentioned in one other. The Second Stain, The Naval Treaty, The Valley of Fear, The Sign of Four, The Blue Carbuncle, Wisteria Lodge, The Empty House, The Mazarin Stone, Black Peter, The Dancing Men, The Three Garridebs, and The Dying Detective see her in the flesh, and she is referred to in The Disappearance of Lady Francis Carfax. Her only description is that she has a "crisp knock" (The Sign of Four), and perhaps she is the unnamed landlady with a "stately tread" in A Study in Scarlet.
11. How many times does Holmes use Toby the dog to help him solve a case?
a. 1
b. 3
c. 4
d. 90
Answer: a-1 - The Sign of Four
12. How many women named Violet show up in the canon?
a. 1
b. 2
c. 4
d. 90
Answer: c-4 – The four ladies are Violet Smith in The Copper Beeches, Violet Hunter in The Solitary Cyclist, Violet Westbury in The Bruce-Partington Plans, and Violet de Merville in the Illustrious Clients. And no, Violet wasn't in the top ten of the most popular girls' names during those years.
13. How many times does Holmes say, "It's elementary, my dear Watson?"
a. 0
b. 6
c. 14
d. 90
Answer: a-0 – Surprised, aren't you?
14. How many times does Holmes use the word 'elementary?'
a. 1
b. 5
c. 7
d. 90
Answer: c-7 – once each in A Study in Scarlet, The Crooked Man, A Case of Identity, Wisteria Lodge, and The Disappearance of Lady Francis Carfax, and twice in The Hound of the Baskervilles
15. How many years older than Sherlock is Mycroft?
a. 5
b. 7
c. 10
d. 90
Answer: b-7
16. In how many stories is Holmes described as sitting with his fingertips together?
a. 2
b. 8
c. 16
d. 90
Answer: a-2 - The Norwood Builder and The Valley of Fear
17. How many times is Holmes' violin referred to as a fiddle?
a. 0
b. 4
c. 9
d. 90
Answer: b-4 - three times in A Study in Scarlet and once in The Mazarin Stone
18. In how many stories does Doyle describe Holmes as wearing an Inverness cape and deerstalker cap?
a. 0
b. 5
c. 11
d. 90
Answer: a-0 – Though it is true that in The Copper Beaches he dons a travelling-cape and close-fitting cloth cap. The iconic cape and deerstalker were added by the original illustrator Sydney Paget.
19. How many people say 'tut tut' in the canon?
a. 0
b. 2
c. 5
d. 90
Answer: c-5 - Five different people say "Tut, tut!", including Moriarty in The Final Problem and Holmes, who uses it himself in four different stories (The Valley of Fear, The Boscombe Valley Mystery, Black Peter, and The Priory School).
20. In how many stories does Billy the page appear?
a. 3
b. 6
c. 9
d. 90
Answer: a-3 - Billy serves Holmes in The Valley of Fear, The Mazarin Stone ("the fresh and smiling face of Billy, the young but very wise and tactful page"), and The Problem of Thor Bridge. There is also an unnamed page boy in The Yellow Face, The Noble Bachelor, and The Naval Treaty that probably isn't Billy. If Billy's young in The Mazarin Stone (1894), then he would be young indeed in The Yellow Face (1884) ten years previously. The Noble Bachelor and The Naval Treaty take place only three years later in 1887, so it's highly doubtful that this lad is Billy, either.
21. How many different dressing-gowns is Holmes described as wearing (by color)?
a. 1
b. 3
c. 5
d. 90
Answer: b-3 - Once it's blue (The Man with the Twisted Lip), once it's purple (The Blue Carbuncle), and twice it's mouse-colored (The Empty House and The Bruce-Partington Plans); the other times it isn't described at all (The Resident Patient, The Beryl Coronet, The Naval Treaty, The Engineer's Thumb, The Cardboard Box, The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Final Problem, and The Mazarin Stone). Once, Watson isn't sure how to spell it and leaves out the hyphen, so Holmes is in a dressing gown in The Valley of Fear. Also in the Valley of Fear we find a male murder victim clad in a pink dressing gown. Just so ya know.
22. In how many stories does Mycroft's name appear?
a. 2
b. 4
c. 8
d. 90
Answer: b-4 - Mycroft's only real cases are The Greek Interpreter and The Bruce-Partington Plans, but he is also briefly and indirectly involved in The Final Problem and talked about in The Empty House.
23. In how many stories does Prof. James Moriarty appear or receive mention?
a. 2
b. 5
c. 7
d. 90
Answer: c-7 - Professor James Moriarty first shows up in The Valley of Fear and then not again until The Final Problem. He's also in The Empty House and receives mention in The Norwood Builder, The Missing Three-Quarter, The Illustrious Client, and His Last Bow.
24. Including the Professor, how many Moriarty brothers are there?
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 90
Answer: c-3 – Professor James Moriarty's brother Col. James Moriarty (forgetting ourselves, are we, Doyle?) is mentioned in The Final Problem. A younger Moriarty brother, first name unknown (surely not also James), is mentioned in The Valley of Fear. He works as a station-master in the West of England.
25. How many times does Holmes say, "My dear Watson?"
a. 0
b. 11
c. 16
d. 90
Answer: d-90 – It had to be the right answer once, didn't it? Though 90 is a lot of times, "my dear Watson" isn't in every story.
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