Don't You Know About ... Trivia Quiz

Answer: Retail sales tax

While most parts of the world have some sort of tax imposed on retail goods, as indicated by the colours in the image, there are different ways of assessing and collecting them, as well as indicating them for the endpoint customer.

In Australia, for example, the process is called a value-added tax, which is imposed at each stage of production for items to which it applies (fresh produce, for example, is exempt, while a birthday cake is subject to VAT). The price displayed on items includes the tax which has accumulated to that point, so it is what you will pay at the checkout. The receipt will include an indication of how much of that price was VAT. In the last 50 years, the trend internationally has been towards increased use of VAT, as a more transparent form of taxation.

In most of the United States, however, retail sales taxes are common, often including components that will be paid to different levels of governing authority. The advertised price does not include the sales tax, so your receipt shows the display price, then the tax, then the total. Once you are used to it, the estimated 'real' cost can be readily taken into account. For first-timers, however, it can be a shock - especially on a sizable purchase!

Answer: Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania Dutch country is primarily located in eastern Pennsylvania, although the culture has expanded to other parts of the country. The reference is actually to the large number of German (Deutsch) settlers in the area during the 19th century. Over the centuries many of them have adapted to the mainstream culture around them, but in some parts there are significant numbers of Old Order Amish and Old Order Mennonites, who have retained many aspects of their 18th century way of life.

It is common in these parts to see a horse and buggy being driven down the road, and special parking areas for them in the centre of town.

Answer: horses

The image was taken at the 2013 Melbourne Cup, as the horses headed into the finishing straight. The race was won by Fiorente, an Irish-bred horse trained in Australia by Gai Waterhouse who became the third woman to train a Cup winner.

This handicap race over 3200 metres has been run at Flemington Racecourse on the first Tuesday in November since 1861. Since 1873 most of the state of Victoria has had a public holiday; the rest of the nation carries on as usual until the actual racetime (usually 3:00pm), when many schools pause to broadcast the race over the school's internal communication system, office workers turn on their devices to stream the race, and shopping malls find all their patrons gathered outside the television store to watch it. (I would love to tell you that this is because everyone loves horses, but in fact it is more due to the fact that almost everyone places a bet on the race, or shares in an office pool, so has a financial interest in the result.)

Answer: pineapple

What a sloppy mess of a dish - and how delicious it turned out to be! Poutine originated in the Canadian province of Quebec sometime in the 1950s, and has spread throughout the rest of the country, a dish they proudly claim as their own. The actual originator is a matter of dispute, as is the source of the name - one popular etymology suggests that it comes from a Québécois slang word meaning mess, while others consider it more likely to have derived from the English word pudding joined with a chef's name (Ti-Pout).

Poutine has evolved over the years, both attempting to become more of a haute-cuisine dish, and incorporating elements from other food cultures, so lots of ingredients can be found in a contemporary poutine, but pineapple is not one of the additions you are likely to find! Fast-food versions have been attempted, but they generally fail to replicate the proper experience, primarily because the fresh cheese curds are not suited to the production line, so it is replaced by the soft gooey yellow stuff often called American cheese. Or even cheese spread!

Answer: poison ivy

Poison ivy is the common name for several plants in the genus Toxicodendron which is native to the eastern part of the North American continent and some parts of Asia. Its name describes both its similarity in appearance to common ivy, and the fact that it contains the chemical urushiol, which produces contact dermatitis in most people. Stepping on a plant will crush its leaves, releasing the irritant. Actually, just brushing against it is often sufficient, so children are taught how to identify and avoid the plant from an early age.

In Australia, people happily stroll through the bush without worrying poison ivy; they may need to avoid other nasties such as bindii, whose sharp thorns can even pierce the sole of a shoe, and cause significant pain if stepped on with bare feet. And then there are the poisonous snakes and spiders, that make poison ivy seem relatively harmless!

Answer: schools

This nickname for the people who stand at pedestrian crossings near schools during the times when children are travelling to and fro comes from the circular sign on a long pole they hold up to tell passing cars to stop. While the law says that cars must give way to anyone on a pedestrian crossing, these people provide a valuable reminder, especially when the children are small and may be easily overlooked by drivers. The alliteration of lollipop ladies makes it a nearly-universal designation, but many of them are in fact male.

The role of crossing guard is a popular job for recently-retired people, who enjoy the contact with others as they chat with the children who gather to wait to be escorted across in a group. It is not a high-paying job, but makes a handy supplement to the age pension for those who fancy it.

Answer: Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras is celebrated in the days leading up to the start of Lent in many cities around the world, but one of the hallmarks of the celebration in New Orleans is the Mardi Gras throws. These items (bead necklaces, small toys and other trinkets) are thrown from parade floats, to be caught and kept by the spectators. They are usually plastic, often featuring the Mardi Gras colours of purple, green and gold. These colours officially represent the Christian ideal of justice, faith, and power.

Mardi Gras ends on Ash Wednesday, at which time celebrants are expected to remove all the decorations with which they have been decorating themselves and their houses, to signify the end of the party and the start of the reflective season of Lent. While the celebration is officially Christian, it has become a secular event, one of the highlights of the New Orleans tourist calendar, and many beads leave town to become souvenirs of the party, rather than objects of contemplation.

Answer: two serves of sugar and two serves of cream

Tim Horton gained fame as an ice hockey player before opening a string of coffee shops. They are so widespread that their special terms have become familiar to everyone, with double-double actually making it into the Oxford Canadian Dictionary in 2004.

The actual amount of cream (or more accurately, coffee creamer) and sugar is not two sachets, as you might first think. It is adjusted according to the size of the coffee you order, so that the flavour profile is the same for all sizes. An article in the 'Toronto Star' stated that analysis showed a medium double-double had 3.5 teaspoons of sugar, and a large one 6 teaspoons. The cream is also proportionate.

As someone who prefers my coffee with skim milk and no sugar, it was rather unpleasant to participate in this Canadian ritual, but when in Rome ... I understand that there are those who order the triple-triple, although it is not (yet) part of the vernacular.

Answer: voting

Australians use the sale of sausages (grilled or barbecued, then wrapped in a slice of bread with a lashing of tomato sauce) as a common fundraising activity. They can be seen most Saturday mornings, outside the entry to grocery stores and other shops where people with small children who will cajole their parents into a purchase are likely to be found.

Australian elections are held on Saturdays, and most voting sites are local primary schools, where there is space to set up the polling booths and no students to get in the way. The schools grab the chance for fundraising, and the scent of cooking sausages helps anyone who has trouble locating the voting spot find their way. Since voting can involve standing in line for significant periods, sales are generally strong, and you can hear lengthy debates over exactly how a Democracy sausage should be prepared. Tomato sauce (ketchup) is a given, but does it go on the bread before the sausage, or is it drizzled over the snag? What about fried onions - if they do belong there, again under or over the sausage, and where in relation to the sauce? Mustard is generally dismissed as a barbaric Americanism, but some enjoy it. These issues appear to be more significant than the election for many.

Answer: deep fried

Actually, in the part of the United States where I grew up Hush Puppies were a comfortable brand of shoe, and I never actually ate one of these southern delicacies before I moved to Australia. But I was able to enlighten the others. At its most basic, you just make a batter (roughly the consistency of pancake batter) using cornmeal, and drop it in the hot oil to fry. The result has a crunchy coat, and a soft fluffy interior. They are a popular side dish with fried fish or chicken, or as part of a barbecue meal.

Common additions to the basic batter include any or all of corn kernels, garlic, onion, capsicum (bell pepper) and herbs. Hushpuppies can, however, be far more sophisticated. The image shows a dish described on the menu of an up-market restaurant as Dungeness crab hush puppies served with house bourbon barrel aged green hot sauce, boil spice and poblano butter.