Double or Triple Treat Trivia Quiz

Answer: Butterfly

Belonging to the Lepidoptera order of insects, a butterfly usually has brightly coloured wings that flap gently up and down as they float through the air in delicate and graceful motion. One of nature's loveliest creations, a butterfly has four stages to pass through to reach its full maturity.

These begin with an egg laid on the leaf of a plant, before transforming into caterpillars, changing once more into a chrysalis, and then undergoing their final metamorphosis into the lovely butterfly.

Answer: Computer

A computer is an electronic device that uses multiple sets of pre-programmed instructions to carry out various tasks on a view screen attached to it. Today, one can do just about anything on a computer - create drawings, word documents, photo manipulations, spread sheets, data bases, play games, even create them - and so on.

They're quite amazing how they work and what they have the capability to achieve. Forms of primitive and unpowered computers have been around for thousands of years, usually used to work out simple calculations, and, as the centuries passed, these grew more complex and capable of doing more sophisticated work.

After electricity was invented, enabling a great leap forward on what could achieved by man, computers took a huge step into the future from that point.

Answer: Dishwasher

A dishwasher can either be a human being working over a sink filled with hot, soapy water in order to wash dirty dishes by hand - or an electric machine with a set of programmed steps designed to do the same task automatically. These are great inventions for busy people, but sometimes, quite frankly, they don't do as efficient a job as the human "machine" does. Gunk can build up inside them which isn't at all healthy for people eating from those utensils.

Answer: Ladybug

Ladybugs, also known as ladybirds, are from the Coccinellidae family of insects. Their shells come in colours of orange, yellow or red - although I've never seen a yellow one - covered with small black dots. Amazingly, there are over 6,000 species of this lovely little insect. Ladybugs are usually considered to be one of nature's garden helpers because they prey on other insects that do damage to plants.

However, because they can be considered a threat to other plants at time, they in turn have several natural enemies that help keep their population under control. Should these natural predators be decimated in some way, the ladybug population can increase out of control in those areas. If you're of a romantic frame of mind, you can place a ladybug n the palm of your hand and make a wish. If the little lady then flies away, your wish will be granted.

Answer: Strawberry

Strawberries have a lovely scent when chomped into, and, for most people, an equally pleasing taste. Some of us, however, dislike them and think their taste is slightly tart and unappealing. The most popular dish associated with strawberries is probably strawberries and cream - as served in the international tennis tournament played in Wimbledon, England, every year.

It has become a tradition there. Apart from being consumed as a food product, strawberries are also said to be good for lowering cholesterol, hypertension, inflammatory conditions, heart disease and even in the treatment of some cancers.

As always though, consult your doctor first before trying to treat yourself.

Answer: Potato

A potato is a tuber from the nightshade family of plants. Native to the Andes region of South America, potatoes began to appear in the western world in the latter half of the 16th century, courtesy of the Spanish explorers in the new world of the Americas.

They took a while to catch on in Europe because people were deeply suspicious of them at first, but today are one of the top foods for human consumption after wheat, rice and maize. There are almost 5,000 different species of the humble but delicious spud grown worldwide today. Why not try some mashed up and hot, mixed in with butter and a bit of salt. Just yummy. Hang the waistline.

Answer: Octopus

The definition of an octopus is a cephalopod mollusc, a creature with a large head, four pair of arms or tentacles, and a mouth, complete with a beak. It's a creepy looking thing, all up. These sea animals are considered to be the most intelligent of all the invertebrates, and, because they have no skeleton, are able to get in and out of the smallest spaces.

There are over 300 different species, all of which are venomous, but only the blue-ringed octopus is dangerous to man.

Answer: Ponytail

A ponytail is a hair style, usually worn by the feminine gender, but seen now and then on older men for the most part. These are men who tend to call women "Babe" as well. A ponytail is simple in the extreme, easily done, and is described as long hair combed back from the face towards the back of the head, and held securely in place by a rubber band or hair tie of some sort.

It earns its name because, from the back view, it does bear a remarkable resemblance to a pony or a horse's rump. Don't be surprised if one flicks you in the eye one day.

Answer: Telephonist

Telephonists are trained people, once normally comprising women only, who work large switchboards transferring phone calls from one section to another. Today these people - a lot of which are still female - usually work in large organisations employing hundreds of people. Once, however, when telephones were still in their infancy and with hardly any automatic connections in place, telephonists were hired in their thousands at local sites transferring phone calls from individual establishments to their destinations with hundreds of wires between plugs connected to enormous switchboards. This work once provided employment for a vast number of young women who were first starting out in the work force.

I can remember as a child out in the country watching my father turning a handle on a phone to connect it to the local switchboard centre. Eventually some woman would answer and my father would say something like "841 please, exchange" (that's how the women were addressed). She would then unplug a wire connecting to our house and plug it into a hole on her board that connected it to the number 841. I imagine most of the workers would listen in occasionally to private conversations if they weren't swamped with calls. There was a large building near the post office in our small town where a lot of these women worked. And then, overnight, it all vanished when automatic dialling came in - putting all those people out of work.

Answer: Grasshopper

Grasshoppers, crickets and katydids are all insects from the Orthoptera family of classifications. They are believed to have been on the earth for 250 million years. For the most part, because they munch into plants and cereals, grasshoppers are looked upon as pests.

When they begin to do this in large numbers, they are referred to as locusts. They have the ability to fly, and to jump suddenly from where they are camouflaged. This is a defence characteristic as it usually startles any predators, allowing the grasshopper to escape.

They have large powerful and scaly back legs which feel ghastly to touch. Scientists are considering them today as a potential food source, and in many countries, they have been eaten for a long time. Mexicans, for example, eat them with tortillas and chili sauce. Blow that for a joke. I'll stick to baked beans with Vegemite.