Rock and Roll Party Quiz | Thematic Fun

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Elsie brought along a barm cake, made from a traditional Lancashire recipe her grandmother taught her. Its name comes from the leavening agent used to make these rolls, which gives them a distinctive taste. Which of these is it?

Answer: Foam from the top of fermenting beer

The foam that forms on the top of fermenting beer contains traces of the yeast used to ferment the beer, as well as having flavour from the other ingredients, especially the hops. The soft rolls are often served filled with chips, although the one in the picture contains a slice of black pudding, another Lancashire specialty food.

2. Jack arrived with a sample of a rock that he was able to float in the water of the fish tank (which did not impress the clown loach) because it was so full of air holes, as you can see from the picture. What kind of rock did he choose for his demonstration?

Answer: Pumice

Pumice was not a novelty for the fish, as part of their tank's filtration and aeration system uses pumice, but they were not impressed to have it floating over them. Most pumice is sufficiently sponge-like to float on water, but it eventually absorbs water and sinks. The bubbles are formed, usually during an explosive volcanic eruption, when the magma is thrown rapidly through the air. This means that the surrounding pressure drops quickly, making the dissolved gases form bubbles, in somewhat the same fashion as the dissolved carbon dioxide makes fizzy drinks fizz. Because the transit through air which is much cooler than the original magma makes it cool rapidly, the bubbles get trapped inside the rock as it forms.

Pumice, mixed with lime, made a form of concrete used by the Romans in building aqueducts. It is also commonly used as an abrasive (pumice stone is useful for smoothing calluses and, formerly, in depilation). Ground pumice is sometimes added to toothpastes to increase their ability to remove stains from teeth. Thanks, but no thanks.

3. After he pulled his rock out of the fish tank, Jack showed us that it had a piece of biotite embedded in it. What is the more common name for this mineral?

Answer: Black mica

Biotite was named after Jean-Baptiste, a French physicist who undertook extensive research into the properties of various members of the mica family. I won't frighten you with its approximate chemical formula, or the technical jargon that describes the fact that it forms in thin sheets that flake apart easily.

It is often found embedded in volcanic rocks such as the one Jack brought to the party. The crystals range in size from microscopic up to the largest yet found, with an area of about seven square metres (75 square feet).

4. Marcel brought us some rolls that he says are often called 'love knots' in Italy because of their shape, which is usually distinctly phallic. Given that name, it is surprising to find that a main ingredient is likely to discourage subsequent kissing. Which of these is it?

Answer: Garlic

The picture shows garlic knots, made by twisting strips of dough into an appropriate shape and baking, then drizzling garlic butter over them. They are often sold in the US in pizza shops, using up leftover pizza dough. Sometimes parsley is included in the garlic butter mixture - this is supposed to reduce the odoriferous impact of the garlic. Romano or Parmesan cheese may also be added.

5. For my contribution, I took everyone to look at the feature wall we built in the backyard, and told them that it was made of a common felsic intrusive igneous rock composed of a mixture of feldspar, quartz, mica and amphibole. After giving the jargon description, I told them that the interesting bit is the fact that this rock is often radioactive, sometimes dangerously so. What material did we use to build our wall?

Answer: Granite

Granite gets its name from the fact that its appearance is granular - it is a mixture of various minerals, usually with large enough crystals of each to be visibly differentiated. Let's unpack my textbook definition of this common rock. Igneous rocks are formed from cooling magma; intrusive igneous rocks form under the surface, and cool slowly, forming large crystals. Felsic rocks have relatively more feldspar and quartz (silicon dioxide) than mafic rocks, which have more magnesium and iron (ferric minerals) in the balance of chemicals from which they are formed. Different samples of granite have different balances between the various minerals, giving them different colors.

Many rocks are naturally radioactive, because they contain small amounts of uranium or other radioactive materials, but some samples of granite test to have a high enough level of radioactive emissions to be a health hazard.

The rocks we used didn't register on the Geiger counter we borrowed to test them, fortunately!

6. Marek brought along some rolls that he said are called kajzerka in his native Poland, although they originate in Austria, where they are called Kaisersemmel. What is the English name of this crusty roll?

Answer: Kaiser roll

Kaiser rolls are known to have been made at least as long ago as 1760, because they are shown in a painting by Martin van Meytens of a banquet at the court of Maria Theresa. They acquired their current name at a later stage, possibly in honor of Emperor (Kaiser) Joseph II, who deregulated the price and earned the gratitude of bakers throughout his realm. 'Semmel' is the German term for a breadroll. Kaiser rolls are traditionally made with their tops divided into five segments by curves extending from the centre to the outer edge of the roll.

7. Teodora's contribution to the rock and roll party was a bread roll from the Czech Republic whose name comes from the fact that French troops stationed in Prague during the 18th century called them 'panne d'Allemagne' (German bread). What is their current Czech name?

Answer: Dalamanek

Dalamanek are white bread rolls whose tops are sprinkled with oat flakes, cumin and salt. They are popularly sold with fillings such as sliced meat or cheese to make a meal. An interesting variant incorporates grated cheese in the dough, so that its flavour infuses the entire roll, nicely complemented by the cumin seed topping.

8. Branko showed us all this sample of brown coal, and explained that it represents one of the stages of development of coal from ancient plant material. What did he tell us is the more scientific name for brown coal?

Answer: Lignite

The formation of coal starts with decay of plant matter, usually under water, so that decay occurs slowly, and the organic matter accumulates. The first stage that forms, peat, is still recognizably organic in nature. After more time has passed, pressure turns the peat into lignite, a soft brown sedimentary rock with a carbon content of around 25%, and a water content often over 50%. Lignite is often burned to generate electricity in power stations located near the site of excavation.

Its volatility makes transport difficult, and it produces more carbon dioxide on combustion than higher grades of coal. Over time, and with more material accumulating on top of the lignite, it becomes more compacted, turning into bituminous coal and, eventually, anthracite (black coal).

9. Agata considered her sample of calcite to be of interest because it is commonly found in her native Slovenia, where the fact that it dissolves in acidic water has led to the formation of karst topography with extensive underground caves. What is the chemical composition of calcite?

Answer: Calcium carbonate

Calcite is one of the most stable crystal forms of calcium carbonate, along with aragonite. Calcium carbonate is the main constituent of limestone, a sedimentary rock formed from the shells and skeletons of ancient marine organisms. Since the carbonate ions react with even a very weak acid, regions with large deposits of limestone gradually form underground caves, often containing dramatic speleothems - stalactites growing down from the cave ceiling, stalagmites pointing up from the cave floor, columns where a stalactite and a stalagmite merge, and a range of other spectacular formations. One of the most famous karst regions is found in Slovenia, extending into Italy - the formation of sinkholes as the surface rock becomes too weak to support itself, and collapses into the cave below, can be a serious problem for residents of the area.

10. Arnaldo brought along some ciabatta, which I always thought of as a traditional Italian bread. He informed us that it was invented by his namesake, Arnaldo Cavallari, in a small town near Venice in what year?

Answer: 1982

Cavallari developed this new bread in response to the popularity of the French baguette in making sandwiches. He called it 'ciabatta Polesano' (Polesine slipper bread) in reference to its shape and the region in which it was developed. His original version was an elongated and slightly flattened loaf, with a chewy crust and large holes in the bread.

It has since been adapted to suit tastes in other regions, including production of a smaller single-serve size.

Source: Author looney_tunes

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor trident before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Rock and Roll Party Trivia Quiz

The guests at my rock and roll party each brought either a rock or a roll, and shared an interesting fact about it with the group. Come play the game with us.

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