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Bathroom Reading Material Trivia Quiz

I love to soak in a hot tub and read one of the many "Uncle John's Bathroom Reader" books. When I'm not on-line, this is how I fill my head with utterly useless trivia.

A multiple-choice quiz by scansade. Estimated time: 6 mins.

Author
scansade

Time
6 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
268,416

Updated
Jul 23 22

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Difficult

Avg Score
5 / 10

Plays
755

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. According to Uncle John, Ken Forsse was an animatronic robot designer for Disney during the 1960s and '70s. What toy fad did he instigate in 1985 that used this technology? Hint

Teddy Ruxpin

Furby

Chatty Cathy

Betsy Wetsy

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. A type of purple dye was a novelty for Canaan royalty during the 19th century B.C. Just what could make this dye so special? It was made using what? Hint

crushed, dried kermes bugs

roots of the cinchona tree

powdered amethyst crystals

glands from the murex mollusk

NEXT>

Question 3 of 10

3. I love to doodle with purple pens. Hey, where did that fun-to-say word "doodle" get its origins? Hint

deludel which is German for "child's -play"

dudle meaning "scratch the surface"

dudeln which means " to play the bagpipe"

ludled which is "wasted time"

NEXT>

Question 4 of 10

4. Wasting time is one of my specialities. I especially like to spend time watching humorous movies like "Napoleon Dynamite". Who used the name Napoleon Dynamite as a pseudonym? Hint

Elvis Costello

Mark Twain

Elvis Presley

Jerry Springer

5. I also like to spend time traveling. However, I don't like to leave the continent. Did you know the Inuit gained control of an area of land in North America in 1999? But what and how much land did they acquire? Hint

All land within 100 miles of the North Pole

Alluvit - over 770,00 square miles

Nunavut - over 135,000 square miles

Impossible - no one can truly own land

NEXT>

Question 6 of 10

6. What do the Alaskans mean when they direct me to the "nooshnik"? Hint

outhouse

candlefish dehydrator

Alaskan pipeline

the other 49 states, also called "the outside"

NEXT>

Question 7 of 10

7. In 1917, what facility was put on display as a work of art entitled "Fountain"? Hint

a leaky faucet

a toilet

a urinal

a bidet

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. They say that necessity is the mother of invention. I'm not sure they are a necessity, but where were the first kazoos demonstrated?
Hint

at the Paris World's Fair in 1900

at the Georgia State Fair in 1852

on Ellis Island 1887

under the Eiffel tower in 1910

NEXT>

Question 9 of 10

9. What strange illness can players of the bagpipes get? Hint

bagpiper's tinnitus

tone deafness

bagpiper's vertigo

bagpiper's fungus

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. The Scots have odd taste in music and food. What exactly is the Scottish dish haggis? Hint

diced sheep stomach boiled in its intestines

choice cuts of meat poached in Scotch

sheep innards boiled in its stomach

turnips and potatoes in sheep liver gravy

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. According to Uncle John, Ken Forsse was an animatronic robot designer for Disney during the 1960s and '70s. What toy fad did he instigate in 1985 that used this technology?

Answer: Teddy Ruxpin

Teddy Ruxpin was a bear whose eyes and mouth moved as he read pre-recorded stories. The toy helped Forsse to start up Worlds of Wonder. The company was completely out of business four years after it began.

2. A type of purple dye was a novelty for Canaan royalty during the 19th century B.C. Just what could make this dye so special? It was made using what?

Answer: glands from the murex mollusk

More than 12,000 murex must lose their lives for a paltry 1.4 grams of the purple dye. Cloth which was dyed with this "Tyrian purple" could cost many times its own weight in gold.
The kermes bugs were used to make a different dye called "Cardinal's purple." The color cloth it produced was more red than the royal purple. It gained popularity for being much cheaper to manufacture.
The cinchona tree is used to make synthetic quinine and can produce a lighter purple dye.

3. I love to doodle with purple pens. Hey, where did that fun-to-say word "doodle" get its origins?

Answer: dudeln which means " to play the bagpipe"

Dudeln is the German word meaning to play the bagpipe. Apparently some people found playing the bagpipes to be an unnecessary waste of time, much like scribbling on paper. That's how it got its meaning.
The other choices are simply figments of my imagination.

4. Wasting time is one of my specialities. I especially like to spend time watching humorous movies like "Napoleon Dynamite". Who used the name Napoleon Dynamite as a pseudonym?

Answer: Elvis Costello

Elvis Costello took it for his name on the album "Blood and Chocolate". Jeremy Coon wrote the screen play after meeting a homeless person claiming to be Napoleon Dynamite. He was a fan of Costello. Coon never did make the connection with the album.
Mark Twain, as you may know, is the pseudonym for Samuel Clemens.

Answer: Nunavut - over 135,000 square miles

In Inuktitut, Nunavut translates to "our land". The Inuit lost their land to the Hudson's Bay Company in the 1800s. Then, the Dominion of Canada was formed and designated much of the Inuit land as a part of the Northwest Territories. Over the next century they tried to gain control of their land from the government.

It finally happened on April 1, 1999. Nunavut became one of the largest areas (almost the size of California and Alaska combined) of land to be governed by native people.

6. What do the Alaskans mean when they direct me to the "nooshnik"?

Answer: outhouse

A nooshnik is indeed an outhouse. How would you like to "go" outside in sub-zero weather?
A candlefish is so oily, it can be dried and then used as a candle. Talk about cholesterol!
When Alaska became a state on January 3, 1959, it took a long time for many of them to get used to the idea. The Alaskans said "America" to mean the other 49 states. They also called the other states "the outside." Hawaii was the last state to enter the union soon after on August 21, 1959.

7. In 1917, what facility was put on display as a work of art entitled "Fountain"?

Answer: a urinal

Marcel Duchamp entered an unembellished urinal in the Society of Independent Artists exhibit in New York in 1917. The event's organizers asked why they should treat it as a work of art. Duchamp's reply? "Because I said so." His arrogant attitude summed up the feelings of that era of artists.

8. They say that necessity is the mother of invention. I'm not sure they are a necessity, but where were the first kazoos demonstrated?

Answer: at the Georgia State Fair in 1852

A similar African instrument called a "mirliton" has been used for hunting and religious ceremonies for hundreds of years. Alabama Vest, an African American, invented the kazoo around 1840. He asked a local clockmaker to help produce them years later. The technical term for a kazoo is the membranophone.

9. What strange illness can players of the bagpipes get?

Answer: bagpiper's fungus

Fungal spores can grow in bagpipes. The player then inhales them. This can lead to serious lung diseases which can ultimately be fatal.

10. The Scots have odd taste in music and food. What exactly is the Scottish dish haggis?

Answer: sheep innards boiled in its stomach

Traditionally, haggis is served with mashed potatoes, turnips, and Scotch. I bet the Scotch is what helps the haggis go down and keeps it from coming back up! Nowadays, if you order haggis in a restaurant, it will be made using more choice cuts of meat.
Thanks to Uncle John and the Bathroom Readers' Institute for the absorbing information in their books.

Source: Author scansade

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Nannanut before going online.
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