A Random Mix of Questions Trivia

1. Which remarkable auric ability do Australia's eucalyptus trees possess?

From Quiz Patchwork Quilt 10

Answer: They can draw up gold through their roots

Eucalyptus trees in Australia have roots that can detect gold from deep down under the ground and draw it up to spread it throughout their leaves and branches in extremely small particles. While these particles of gold on the foliage are not worth amassing, they are a very reliable indication that gold deposits may exist deep underground. Remarkable, isn't it? Eucalyptus trees are very fast growing gifts from nature, so they're always a readily available source of wood, and the copious amounts of delightfully scented oil they produce is used to produce insecticides, disinfectants and other cleaning goods, cough lollies, decongestants, toothpaste and insect repellent. The multi-gifted eucalyptus also produces a delicious tasting nectar which is used to manufacture honey. The downside to Australia's lovely eucalyptus tree however, is that, because of the natural oil it contains, it more or less explodes in a terrifyingly short time when it catches on fire. So never stand around one admiring the crackling and the sparks. Its falling branches are nicknamed Widow-makers.

From Quiz Patchwork Quilt 9

Answer: Married to a womb

Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) was a military genius (initially) who rose to the top position in the land in France as Emperor of that nation from 1804-1814. During this period he took his country into a series of wars, most of which were successful, until the French Empire spanned a huge portion of Europe. As with all power-mad individuals however, his grab for glory ultimately came tumbling down. He was defeated by a coalition of allies in 1814, forced to unconditionally abdicate, and was exiled to Elba. Here he attempted suicide by swallowing a deadly pill he always carried with him, but when that failed, he attempted one last desperate grab for the glorious days he had once known. Escaping from Elba, he mustered up a small force of deeply loyal men and started to sweep through France for 100 days, until finally beaten at Waterloo in 1815 by the combined forces of the British and Prussian armies. Today he is remembered not only for his defeat at Waterloo, for the heights of glory he once reached, for his concise and clearly written Napoleonic Code of Law which still influences over seventy countries well into the 21st century, and for his famous love for his first wife, Josephine de Beauharnais. Even though both cheerfully took other lovers during their marriage, even though Josephine drove Napoleon insane with her spendthrift ways, even though he divorced Josephine in order to remarry and beget an heir to his empire (a divorce to which Josephine agreed), that love still echoes down through history. Indeed, during their divorce ceremony, which was somewhat of a social event, both parties read out statements declaring their devotion for one another - and Napoleon insisted that Josephine retain the title of Empress. While exiled at Elba however, the news arrived for Napoleon of Josephine's death on 29 May, 1814. Although safely married to Marie-Louise of Austria by then (he described that match as "having married a womb") and with the duly produced heir in tow, Napoleon locked himself in his room for two days, refusing to emerge, eat or drink. His last words, upon his own death on 5 May, 1821, were recorded as "France, l'armée, tête d'armée, Joséphine" ("France, the Army, the Head of the Army, Joséphine).

From Quiz You Don't Know Jack(esque)

Answer: 5 days

Officially called the "Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act", this law was responsible for imposing a five-day waiting period for those who purchased a firearm. This was the standard till NICS, or the "National Instant Criminal Background Check System", was implemented in 1998.

From Quiz Patchwork Quilt 8

Answer: Potatoes

Using a potato growing method from China, combined with NASA's controlled laboratory environment, potatoes became the first vegetable to be successfully grown in space. This took place in 1995 on board the Space Shuttle Columbia. These potatoes are now known as Quantum Tubers and will enable man to venture further and further away from his planet while exploring brave new worlds. Using specific lighting, temperature and humidity controls, potatoes, which normally only produce one crop per year on earth, can now be grown all the year round - and this technique has now been utilised on earth to feed third world countries, and in countries with huge populations. Let's hear it for the humble little spud.

From Quiz An Assortment of Odd and Unusual Facts

Answer: An appearance of Halley's comet

The Bayeux Tapestry, which illustrates the Norman conquest, contains one scene in which the audience at King Harold's coronation are pointing at a comet in the sky, now known to be Halley's comet. This seems to have been a bad omen for poor Harold, who was killed at the Battle of Hastings, but a good one for William the Conqueror who defeated him and became the new King of England, and whose descendants still reign today. The supernova that formed the Crab Nebula occurred in 1054, was observed by Chinese astronomers, remained visible in the daytime for 23 days, and is considered the most famous supernova of all time.

From Quiz Patchwork Quilt 7

Answer: Mule deer

"Bambi", the 1942 movie, was based on the book, "Bambi, A Life in the Woods", by Felix Salten, a rather grim story that had to be brightened considerably for the film. The movie itself took years of pre-production work before its release. Walt Disney had originally intended the hero in the story to be a roe deer. This was altered in the lead up to the film production to make Bambi a mule deer instead, when Disney realised that roe deer weren't native to America, but that mule deer were. It's doubtful though whether the vast majority of young children worldwide who have watched this much loved movie ever since its first release would have known the difference.

From Quiz Patchwork Quilt 5

Answer: To prevent them from being caught in machinery

Docking is the removal of part of an animal's tail for either cleanliness, appearance or protective purposes. Docking the tails of sheep, for example, prevents the build up of faeces in that area, otherwise maggots can breed there. Another example sees pigs' tails being docked to prevent them being bitten or chewed off by other pigs. Appearance wise, you'll often see show horses in equestrian events with docked tails. Horses, particularly in older times, often had their tails docked as well to prevent them being caught up in farm machinery ("Whinnnny!") in the days when these noble beasts were used to pull various ploughing and harvesting machines. Roosters have a form of docking carried out on their other end. To prevent injury and frostbite, their combs and wattles are often cut off. This is known as dubbing, and, if not exactly cruel (anaesthetic is apparently applied first), it makes a normally handsome rooster, strutting around waggling his wattles at the ladies, and giving them the come on with his comb, a sight for derision instead.

From Quiz Patchwork Quilt 4

Answer: Earwax

Lydia Maria Francis Child (1802-1880) was not only a writer of domestic manuals and novels, she was also a journalist who strongly featured women's rights, Native Americans' rights, and the opposition to expansionism and slavery in her works. She spoke out about male dominance and white supremacy as well. All that and earwax too. Two of her most successful books were an instruction manual for young mothers, and her work "The Frugal Housewife". This had the subtitle of "Dedicated to those who are not ashamed of Economy" and was reprinted 33 times over 25 years. It is filled with all types of recipes and economical tips based around the needs of the times. Wouldn't you just love to have a hard copy of this historically fascinating work? A few examples of its advice include how to braid your own bonnets and men's hats from straw; how to make fans out of turkey and goose feathers; teaching children how to knit stockings and make mats for the floor and table (she was a bit too fond of putting children to work, and saw playing as a total waste of man hours); all kinds of moral and monetary saving hints, and general advice about life altogether. We have tips such as "...see that nothing is thrown to the pigs that should have been in the pots"; boiled potatoes are excellent for cleaning really dirty hands and will leave them feeling very soft; clean yellowed ivory handles on knives with sandpaper to restore their whiteness; refresh faded carpets, silk handkerchiefs and cotton material by soaking them in salted water; fix dyed materials to retain their new colour with the gall of a cow; how to keep eggs fresh for up to three years; New England rum makes an excellent shampoo; how to cook a pig's head, particularly the snout; and so on. This book is utterly fascinating. There's a copy of it on the internet. Did you know that when roasting a pig, you'll know that it's half done when its eyes drop out?

From Quiz Patchwork Quilt 2

Answer: The angels' share

Wine matures in barrels sometimes for years before it is released to the public for consumption. These barrels were once traditionally all made from oak, but today other materials such as aluminium, stainless steel and plastic are sometimes used as well. These are called aging barrels. During the maturation and aging process, however, a certain amount of wine is lost because of the natural process of evaporation. When that takes place, small amounts of air enter the barrels to take its place. Amusingly so, this small amount of lost content is known as the "angels' share" of the wine. It's quite reassuring to learn that those heavenly creatures who watch over us on a daily basis are quite temperate in their consumption of alcohol, don't you think?

From Quiz Patchwork Quilt

Answer: To remember how to make beer

Beer is one of the oldest beverages in the world. The manufacture of same is thought to date way back to 9,500 BC. This occurred at the same time that man began to first cultivate cereals. Some historians even believe that beer may have had a direct link with the formation of civilisations because of the trade it instigated. It was considered so valuable, in fact, that workers in ancient Iraq and Egypt were paid in beer as wages every day. Beer back then contained more produce that that manufactured today - different fruits and other nourishing foods etc - so it not only provided necessary fluids but also nourishment as well. Early Mesopotamia writings reveal that the goddess Ninkasi was the goddess of procreation and alcohol in that area of the world. A hymn dedicated to this figure has survived down through the ages that shows it was written out in a form of beer making recipe, so that the art wouldn't be lost by a largely illiterate people. They relied on its repetitive words to fix the words in their memories instead.

From Quiz Potpourri Number Six

Answer: The famous coloured houses in San Francisco

Painted ladies are San Francisco's famous tri-coloured Victorian and Edwardian houses - and they're quite lovely. Almost 50,000 of these beautifully styled houses were constructed there from 1849 until 1915. Described in the "California Architects and Builders News, April 1885" as "red, yellow, chocolate, orange, everything that is loud is in fashion...if the upper stories are not of red or blue... they are painted up into uncouth panels of yellow and brown...". Even lovelier were the mansions in Nob Hill there, but alas, most of those were destroyed in the great earthquake of 1906. During the two World Wars, most of these lovely old homes were painted over with a dull grey shade, and the houses themselves began to pulled down, but within recent years, there has been a resurgence in the construction of their unique styles and colour schemes, so San Francisco springs to architectural life once more.

From Quiz Potpourri Number Three

Answer: He was the first fish to receive chemotherapy

Nicknamed the Super Grouper by all who knew and loved him, Bubba weighed almost seventy kilograms when he was donated to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago in 1987. At that time in his life, Bubba was a female, but because these fish have the ability to change sex during their lifespan, he became a male during the 1990s. Fascinating, isn't it? At the beginning of the 2000s however, Bubba developed a malignant growth on his forehead. Fish have foreheads? He subsequently had surgery to have this removed, and then underwent a course of chemotherapy. The lump resurfaced in 2003 and Bubba had more chemotherapy, but in the meantime he was an inspiration to many cancer victims who regularly visited the trail blazing fish. At least he had no hair to fall out, the poor old boy. That is a sometimes all too negative side effect of chemotherapy treatment for humans. By 2006, Bubba was an old, worn out lad, and finally passed away, whereupon he went to that great spawning ground in the sky. Groupers do, however, develop big bumps on their head following their gender reassignments. It would be horrifying indeed if that natural development of the fish was cut off and given chemotherapy unnecessarily.

From Quiz Potpourri Number Two

Answer: Victor Despeignes

Victor Despeignes was a French physician who lived from 1866-1937. His innovative method of treatment came close on the heels of Wilhelm Rontgen's discovery of x-rays in 1895. Research had shown at this time that this new invention could also kill bacteria, and Despeignes, who like many other physicians of his era believed that cancer was caused by a parasite, began to theorise that those parasites could be dealt with swiftly by using the same method. When, in 1896, a 52-year-old patient subsequently presented to him with a large stomach tumour the size of a new born baby in 1896, Despeignes accordingly began a course of x-raying him twice a day for thirty minutes each time. Poor man. Along with this, he treated his doomed guinea pig with opium, morphine, chloroform, injections of serum, condurango (the bark of a South American vine) and milk. The treatment did work in that the patient, doped out of his brain, began to experience far less pain, and his tumour did indeed shrink in size by fifty per cent. Alas though, with Despeignes having no previous knowledge about the safety levels of radiation to be given and their potentially lethal effects, the patient died twenty days after treatment began. It was the beginning of physicians jumping on the bandwagon everywhere, and, for a time, until the negative side effects of radiation began to be recorded, they began treating every medical condition they could with this miraculous new discovery. This even included acne.

From Quiz Anything Goes Number Four

Answer: Georges Seurat

Neo-Impressionist Georges Seurat, who died so tragically young at the age of thirty-one in 1891, introduced two startling innovations to the world of art with his techniques of chromoluminarism and pointillism. His paintings are created with individual dots of colour, rather than the brush stroke styles that were considered the norm, but the overall optical effect is utterly fascinating. One can't stop staring at them as there's always something new and unexpected to be found in them. Particularly so is his "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La grand Jatte" which was painted by Seurat between 1884-1886, taking two years to complete. It's not hard to understand why. This is a massive work measuring some ten feet across, and Seurat took over sixty sketches of the individual subjects seen within the work. Featuring people from the assorted classes of society in a park on the island of La Grand Jatte near Paris, this beautiful evocative painting captures a world and a life style now gone forever.

From Quiz Clickbait... Question Seven Will Amaze!

Answer: London

Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) was a philosopher and social reformer whose ideas about personal freedom were influential. He is best known for his Utilitarian view that it is the "greatest happiness of the greatest number" that should be the measure of right and wrong. Bentham's will stipulated that, on death, his body should be preserved and displayed in a glass case he called an auto-icon. His head was mummified. It looked so bizarre that the original intention of displaying the head on his body was discarded, and a wax head made instead. Bentham's mummified head was displayed on the floor in front of the chair the rest of his body was sitting on, dressed in Bentham's clothes. The auto-icon was acquired by University College, London in 1850. Several student pranks involving Bentham's remains meant that the head was removed from the auto-icon for safe keeping. The grown-ups weren't immune from pranks of their own: Bentham's 181 year old corpse attended a committee meeting of UCL in 2013. He was recorded as "present, but not voting".

From Quiz Bit of This and That 9

Answer: Loungewear

Long Johns have been with us since the 17th century. Comprised of a long-sleeved, long-legged men's one-piece set of woollen or flannelette underwear to be worn in colder weather, they certainly did the trick in that regard. Many also came with a back flap that could be undone in order to do the necessary, and of course a front flap for the other. Amusingly though, when Long Johns were first introduced, they were worn as loungewear, visible for all to see, on a regular basis. It wouldn't be for some years after their introduction, that they retired from public viewing. One is inclined to think this is because those flaps flapped when they shouldn't have flapped.

From Quiz Bit of This and That 8

Answer: Punishment by a mob

This is also known as being run out of town on a rail. It dates back to the 18th century in the United States when justice in many places was still a pretty rough and ready affair. It was usually dealt out to anyone who had failed to conform in some way to the expected behaviour of the time in less "civilised" areas. Instead of waiting for the due process of the law to occur, a mob usually took the matter into its own hands, and made the offender sit on a fence rail which was paraded through the main street of the area in which the offence had taken place. This person, if lucky enough to escape being tarred and feathered as well, was subsequently dumped on the outskirts of the town. It was then up to him whether he stayed and behaved himself in the future, or if he hightailed out of there as fast as he could, splintery backside and all.

From Quiz Bit of This and That 4

Answer: Planes refuelled at the general store

Valley Falls, Oregon was a community established in 1908 by Charles William Emanuel Jennings (1877-1949) who, in addition to being the community's postmaster, ran several businesses there, and became an Oregon state legislator. Population figures even in 2015 are not available for Valley Falls, beyond the fact that it is identified as a "populated place". This was also the case back in the 1940s when several planes used to land on the highway which ran into the community - and then taxi up to the general store there to be refuelled. Fascinating.

From Quiz All Bits and Pieces

Answer: Dumplings

Suffolk swimmers, a simple locally made dish in that east county of England, are dumplings, which, if cooked correctly, will float on the top of one's stew or soup. The secret is in their ingredients. These include raw bread dough (not suet), salt, butter, and a small amount of milk instead of water. It is the bread dough and milk that is the secret of their "swimming" ability.

From Quiz 10 Interesting Facts

Answer: Horse

The Snickers bar which has sales of over $2 billion dollars annually - oh my aching dental fillings - is a block of nougat within a coating of peanuts and caramel, which is then finished off with the obligatory chocolate covering. Introduced to the dentist-loving world in 1930, this treat was named after the Mars family's favourite horse. By 2004, with a health conscious world becoming more than aware of the increasing global obesity epidemic in the affluent parts of the globe, Mars Incorporated set about creating a more health-based Snickers bar. The new bar has reduced portion sizes (though the price hasn't followed suit), labels stating what each bar contains are more clearly marked (oh big deal), and, more importantly, fat, sugar and salt contents have been reduced. This probably makes the new Snickers taste like something the horse himself would delight in eating, but at least it allows the health conscious to munch into one with a clear conscience. A far better solution, perhaps, would be to not eat one at all.

From Quiz Thoroughly Mixed Up

Answer: one man and one woman on each of two teams

Mixed doubles is not generally the most popular version of international professional tennis. There has been sufficient interest in it, however, to add it as an Olympic sport in 2012.

From Quiz Right! 10 Questions, 10 Categories. Let's Go!

Answer: Olympus Mons

Olympus Mons (Mount Olympus) is a volcano on Mars with a height of 22,000m or 69,000 feet, making it almost three times higher than Mt. Everest. It is a shield volcano with gentle slopes. Therefore it covers a large area, the size of Arizona or 2/3 the area of France.

From Quiz Please Allow Me to Introduce Myself

Answer: Chain

A chain is equal to 22 yards or 66 feet; it is an old unit of measurement. Chain is the length of a cricket pitch. Cubit is the length from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. A rod (or perch or pole) is equal to 5 ½ yards and is the length of the pole used by land surveyors.

From Quiz Anything Goes Number Two

Answer: Spanish bagpipes

There are approximately ten different kind of Spanish bagpipes, many of which are noted for their tenor drones. The things you learn while writing quizzes for Fun Trivia! Apart from being astonished to learn that the Spanish had bagpipes at all, another interesting fact is that several of these bagpipes were in use as far back as the 13th century. It is thought that the word gaita is derived from an old word for goat, as the materials from these early musical instruments were made from the skin of same.

From Quiz Flame-Haired and Never Forgotten

Answer: Goat

In the music video for the 2001 single "Left Behind", goats are the animals that can be seen among the band while they are playing. Besides the goats and the band playing in a forest, the video is about a young boy who works in a meat market and is also bullied at home by having rocks thrown through his window by other kids and not of the goat sort. The single "Left Behind" reached number 24 on the UK charts and was from Slipknot's second album "Iowa". Ingress had a very unfortunate run-in with an amorous goat. The animal took quite a liking to her and in the attempt to get away from it, she ended up being pushed around and colliding with a fence. She had to be airlifted by helicopter for medical attention. Her sister kindly came on the boards to let us know and we held a cyber-vigil for her until she came back on to tell us she was all right. And that's how her first deep abiding friendships were born. She called it her 'randy goat', and she managed to always make people laugh when she told her version of the story. She was called upon to share the story any time someone new joined the team. This generosity and humor is part of what we who knew her miss every day. This question was created by Zonko and this reminiscence was provided by TAKROM.

From Quiz File This Under Strange But True

Answer: Shooting a wounded unarmed man

Private Henry Tandey was a decorated veteran British soldier serving in France and took part in the battle to retake the French town of Marcoing. Tandey served with the 5th Duke of Wellington Regiment and earned a Victoria Cross for "conspicuous bravery". On September 28, 1918, the German troops were in retreat and Tandey had a shot at a wounded German soldier, but would not shoot at an unarmed man. The wounded soldier turned out to be Adolf Hitler. An earlier photograph of Tandey during the 1914 Battle of Ypres was used to create a painting by the Italian artist Fortunino Matania. In 1938, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain traveled to Hitler's Burchesgarten home where Hitler showed Chamberlain his copy of the Matania painting, commenting, "That's the man who nearly shot me".

From Quiz There's No Way Out of This Mess

Answer: Standing up

Ben Jonson (1572-1637) is considered by many people to be the second most important writer in English history after William Shakespeare (1564-1616). He had a very good education as a child, but his plans to attend Cambridge University were marred by his stepfather's insistence that he become apprenticed to him as a bricklayer, a job, perhaps understandably so, that Jonson detested. As soon as he could, therefore, he went to the Netherlands, where he took up soldiering as his trade. Upon returning to England, he next became an actor, where he built up a fine reputation in that field, and also as a playwright and poet of some note. His first great success was the play "Every Man in His Humour" in 1598, a comedy that featured among its cast the talented Bard himself. Jonson's career was far more colourful than Shakespeare's more sedate progress. He spent time in prison on several occasions, killed a man in a duel, had a rather fiery marriage, converted to Catholicism, wrote works that met with the heavy disapproval of the censors of the time, enjoyed great favour from King James I, converted back to the Church of England, and has altogether led historians on a merry chase trying to keep up with his exploits. After dramatically assuring the Dean of Westminster he was too poor to be buried in Poet's Corner, and all he required for his final resting place was an area of ground measuring two feet by two feet, he died in great poverty. Whether it was that poverty, or the Dean's macabre sense of humour, but that's exactly how this writer was ultimately laid to rest - standing up, in the northern aisle of the Nave, in a space fitting those precise measurements. And there he "remains" to this day.

From Quiz Anything Goes Number One

Answer: Fifty-two

Isn't that interesting? One for every card in a standard pack of playing cards. The four different suits in a deck of cards are said to represent the four different seasons of the year as well, with the thirteen cards in each suit representing the lunar months of the year. The Ace is said to represent alpha and omega, the beginning and the end. This is quite fitting as the Ace can either be used to replace the number one, or be placed at the end of a suit to become the highest card in that suit. Cards have been around since at least the ninth century. Ancient packs of the same have been discovered in China. By the 15th century, when they had been established in Europe for some time and following their introduction from China, the faces on the cards had come to represent members of royalty, with various famous rulers from history being honoured accordingly. The joker found its way into a standard deck by those young American whipper-snappers shortly after the American Revolution. They used it to trump all other cards in a deck, including the Aces and Kings. Hopefully it wasn't meant to represent their President!

From Quiz Comical Facts No 3

Answer: "If you drop me, you idiot, I'll break your neck"

Only it wasn't the word idiot she used. Aileen Pringle was born in 1895 in San Francisco, and died in Manhattan in 1989. She was the leading lady of more than sixty silent films. One of these included the 1924 film "Three Weeks" in which she plays the role of an unhappy woman married to the King of Sardalia. She escapes from her life for several weeks and flees to Switzerland for a holiday. There she promptly falls in love with Conrad's character. Before the advent of sound in movies, and even while portraying the most romantic or terrified emotions during her work in silent films, Ms Saucy Pringle was notorious for her language and her off-colour remarks during most of her scenes.

From Quiz Random Jottings, Part VII

Answer: Donate blood

Charles donated blood to encourage more donors to make up the shortfall created by the concern over AIDS being transmitted by transfusions.

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