10 Things I Never Learned in School Quiz

Answer: Hippopotamus

Obaysch was captured on an island in the Nile and traded to England in 1850. He was the first hippopotamus seen in that country since prehistoric times. After the swap was made by British Consul general Sir Charles Murray (afterwards nicknamed "Hippopotamus Murray"), Obaysch sailed off to England accompanied by a herd of cows to provide him with milk, and remained in that country until his death 28 years later. He proved to be a sensation in London, and attracted an astonishing 10,000 visitors a day. Such was his fame that a dance, the "Hippopotamus Polka", was even created in his honour.

After Obaysch made a break for freedom a few years later, it is believed that the zoo used a keeper as bait to lure him back to his enclosure. He was returned safely, but it is not known whether the keeper fared likewise. This eventuated in the Egyptian government sending a female hippo to Britain in an attempt to calm the frisky Obaysch down, but it took him sixteen years to get motivated as far as hippo romance went. Of the three calves he and his blushing bride Adhela eventually produced, only a female, given the peculiar name of Guy Fawkes, survived.

Answer: Testing the effects of space on geriatrics

Astronaut, engineer and US Senator, John Glenn (1921-2016) had a sterling career, there's no doubt about that. In 1962, he became the first American to orbit the earth (three times in fact), was a pilot in both World War II and the Korean War, and collected six Distinguished Flying crosses, eighteen oak leaf clusters, the NASA Distinguished Service Medal and the Congressional Medal of Honour along the way. You name it, he did it. Amazingly so, in 1998, at the age of seventy-seven, while still serving as a US Senator, John Glenn returned to space again as a payload specialist on the space shuttle Discovery. His inclusion in that flight met with some resistance, but it was justified on the grounds of doing long term effects on the life of astronauts, and also to study the effects of space travel of older people - on geriatric grounds, in other words. Well why not? If Captain James T. Kirk could do it, anyone could.

When Glenn orbited the earth in his famous Friendship 7 flight in 1962, when so little was known about space and what lay out there, he carried a note with him that was written in several languages. Heading the short message, and rather comically so, were the words "I am a stranger. I come in peace. Take me to your leader".

Answer: On ice

Saint Petersburg already had benefited from a form of rail service since the early 1850s, but this was horse draw only, and used to draw freight around industrial areas of the city. Within another ten years, however, three passenger bearing lines had opened as well to ferry citizens around the city. Twenty-two lines were added by the early 1860s, and the service, by then, covered sixty miles of track, and was carrying more than two million people annually. Given the success of this venture, and when an electric rail service was demonstrated in 1880, the proposal to replace the horses with those newfangled inventions was met with fierce resistance by the authorities because of the proposed cost.

It took another fourteen years, in 1894, before the first electric rail service ran in Saint Petersburg, but because a court challenge had been issued by the owners of the horse-drawn service, the new one was allowed to run over ice only! It wouldn't be until 1902, when the contract between the city authorities and the owners of the horse drawn services had expired, and all goods, tracks, buildings and horses were returned to the ownership of the authorities, that the electric tram service was finally allowed to operate over solid ground, without the risk of falling into the drink.

Answer: To defecate outside the sponge

Now how cute is that? A fish with an outside loo. With the scientific name of Echiodon rendahli, Rendahl's Messmate is found in the south western coastal areas in the sea waters between Australia and New Zealand. Only growing to a maximum length of four inches, this fish's usual abode is within the security of sea sponges.

However, as every well behaved guest knows, cleanliness is next to sponginess, and this little fish, known for the small portion of its intestines that hangs from its body, protects itself from predators by using this to defecate outside the sponge without actually having to go outside completely.

Answer: An elephant was the symbol for the Republican Party

Harry S. Truman (1884-1972) was the President of the United States from 1945 until 1953. Highlights of his presidency were reviving the economic state of Europe, following the end of WWII, with the launch of the Marshall Plan, US intervention in Korea, and heading the onset of the Cold War against the Soviet Union.

As a member of the Democrat party of the United States - whose unofficial logo is a donkey - Truman laughingly refused a ride on Dumbo the Flying Elephant during his 1957 visit to Disneyland, because an elephant is the logo of the US Republican Party.

Answer: Backwards

After Idaho began to expand significantly in the early 20th century with both mining and agriculture, but because it was not served by rail at that time, a new trans-continental route was proposed that would cross from Montana into Idaho, via the Bannock Pass on the Continental Divide. Accordingly, the Gilmore and Pittsburgh railway was formed in 1907 to realise this proposal. Because it was extremely impractical to go over the top of the Divide, a tunnel going underneath the 7,681 feet high Bannock Pass was constructed instead. The only trouble was that a full length tunnel under the pass would cost too much, so it was decided to bore a shorter tunnel through the Pass at its highest practical elevation instead.

To bring this about, a zig-zag switchback was constructed either side of the summit. This resulted in train passengers, travelling happily along and minding their own business on one side of the Divide, suddenly finding themselves going backwards right through the tunnel, before being switched to a forward direction once again on the other side. It must have been so disorienting on the first few trips. They wouldn't have known if they were going when they were coming or coming when they were going.

Answer: Divination based on the chance words of strangers

Developed in Ancient Greece, cledonism was a divination practice where one asked the oracles a question for anything that was puzzling them or needed a solution - and then going outside the shrine to listen to the words of strangers as they passed to and fro.

The answer to their puzzle was found in any link between those casual words and the question asked of the gods. An example of this can be found in Book XX of the "Odyssey" where Odysseus takes vengeance on a group of suitors after asking the gods how to deal with them.

He immediately hears a clap of thunder, after which a servant woman enters the room. She prays to Zeus to let this be the last day when suitors dine in the house of Odysseus. Very convenient if you ask me.

Answer: Yes

Examples of over-illumination can be easily seen today in such large structures as department stores, hospitals, gyms and offices. Apart from the cost involved in maintaining this unnecessary amount of lighting, over-illumination can have sometimes drastic effects on human health.

This includes migraines, fatigue, higher than normal stress levels, anxiety, agoraphobia, heart disease, disturbances to circadian rhythms, panic attacks, and even erectile dysfunction. Interesting, isn't it? Much of this wastage of power and negatives effects on health can be overcome by designing buildings that allow in as much natural light as possible, switching off lights in unoccupied areas, replacing fluorescent lighting with other products, and so on. I also believe, quite sincerely, that fixed windows that cannot be opened to allow in fresh air, and air conditioning at every turn, are also negatively impacting on human health, and hope one day that this is investigated as well.

Answer: True

Born in England on 13 February, 1950, Peter Gabriel is a more than talented singer and songwriter who originally sprang to fame with the band "Genesis" before branching out on his own as a soloist and occasionally as a collaborator with other famous performers.

In 1984, while working late into the night on a recording of two versions of a song by Laurie Anderson, it was later revealed that Peter had fallen asleep during the recording session but had continued singing in his sleep. This was only noticed when his voice was described as "taking on a dreamlike quality". Now, that's real talent.

Answer: Zsa Zsa Gabor

Rex Reagan (1984-1998), a most regal Cavalier King Charles spaniel, was purchased in 1985 by Ronald Reagan as a Christmas present for his wife, Nancy. His life during time in office, and afterwards, included helping throw the switch to light up the national Christmas tree, having his tonsils removed, and, following the advice of a family friend, being trained to act decorously in public and not dragging the First Lady in an undignified fashion across the White House lawns. Rex was also connected to the world of the spirits and flatly refused to enter the Abraham Lincoln bedroom, often standing in front of the door barking at its unseen occupant.

In a bit of lighthearted fun, when the Reagans were given a posh doghouse from the Washington Children's Museum, they decided to have an official opening for the lavishly decorated structure with its red curtains and framed family portraits on its walls. With all due ceremony, actress Zsa Zsa Gabor was invited to carry out the honours. Fortunately she didn't slap any White House guards during the fun filled event.