Parts, Ridges, Pears and Trees Quiz

Answer: Decal

Model kits' decals are usually made of an extremely thin vinyl foil on which the desired patterns are printed. The sheet is typically provided uncut, so the builder has to cut out each shape. To apply a decal, the cut out piece along with its backing paper is immersed in water. After a while, the decal detaches from the backing at which point the builder can apply it to the model. Leaving a decal in the water for too long will however dissolve the glue entirely, so it won't stick any more. Timing is very critical in this step.

Strange clue: Take your time and look back at the recent past.

Answer: Ogre

The only creature fitting my needs would be the ogre. While titans are also giants, they are the most powerful giant kind and suitable opponents only for characters very close to 20th level. A howler is a predator from the demonic Abyss, not a giant although it would be of the correct challenge level for my group. Finally, a lich is an undead, transformed spellcaster. A giant wizard or cleric could become a lich, but it would then no longer have the giant type and also be significantly too powerful for the party.

Strange clue: The connection you seek is way too subtle for the rather simplistic mind of an ogre.

Answer: Spacer

The typical wheel assembly of an inline skate consists of the main axle, a securing bolt, two ball bearings, the spacer and the polyurethane wheel itself. To assemble it, first press one of the bearings into the respective opening of the wheel, then insert the spacer and press down the second bearing. Then put the wheel into the blade, insert the axle and secure with the bolt. Without the sturdy spacer, it would be very easy for the bearings to slide too far in on the wheel, which results in the wheel getting caught against the blade and unable to spin freely when tightened.

Strange clue: A typical inliner wheel spacer is symmetric. A quiz isn't.

Answer: Denim

Even on an easy trail, you should always wear long, sturdy, trousers when hiking, both to protect yourself in case of a fall and to ward off nasty encounters with thistles, thorns, stinging nettles or poison ivy. Silk and spandex would both tear very easily during a fall, especially when you slide across rock, and thus you would risk painful and possibly infected abrasions. Wool can be made into sturdy fabrics, but they would then also be very warm, not suitable for a summer day. A simple, sturdy pair of jeans will do just fine if you do not want to invest into specialized clothes for your occasional casual mountain hike.

Strange clue: How likely is it that a jeans worn both backwards and inside out will fit?

Answer: Maps

The skill of navigating with a paper map and compass is one that is quickly being lost among the general population with the proliferation of smartphones and other GPS-enabled devices. Even if you do use these devices to plan your hikes, however, bring along a printed map and a compass and know how to use them: your phone's battery might run out or the device might get damaged. You need the compass to make sure your map will point the right way - you cannot always easily distinguish which of a group of roughly evenly spaced features is which - and you need the map to make sure the village you're walking towards is actually the one you left the car at!

Strange clue: You won't need a map to find your destination. A profile could help, however.

Answer: Rennet

Rennet, a compound historically extracted from the stomachs of calves killed for their meat, consists of several enzymes that coagulate the milk into the loaf of cheese you want to produce. Apart from chymosin, pepsin and various lipases all play a role in natural rennet. Today, rennet is almost exclusively produced via genetically engineered microorganisms, yielding a purer product with a higher and better controllable chymosin content. As an additional benefit, producing this kind of rennet does not involve the killing of animals, so the cheese so produced is suitable for lacto-vegetarians. Both halal and kosher brands of synthetic rennet exist. There are also plant-based extracts available (often called vegetable rennet) with similar properties, but they do not contain the same enzymes.

Strange clue: Most amino acids exist in two mirrored configurations, but the two have quite different chemical properties.

Answer: Tuber

Most recipes for yam and pear soup actually use sweet potatoes (also called yam in the United States), but the dish can well be made with actual yams. Like the potato plant, yam produces multiple kinds of noxious, bitter alkaloids which are present in all parts of the plant, including the immature tuber. Once the tuber is ripe, however, it is free from alkaloids and safe to eat. True yam is native to Africa and Asia and a single tuber can grow to over 50 kg (110 lbs).

Strange clue: *Yam may* be good for you.

Answer: Lager

Lager (from the German verb "lagern", meaning "store") beer comes in many variants from pale to almost black and can be both malty-sweet or relatively bitter. The common characteristic of all lager variants is that it uses a bottom-fermenting yeast (the yeast residue sinks to the bottom after fermentation), fermentation takes place slowly at low temperatures and after fermentation and filtering, the beer is left to mature in a cold storage area (approximately 6-8°C = 42-47°F) for several weeks. The popular Pilsner beer is a subtype of pale lager with pronounced hop tastes.

Strange clue: You're not seeing double. It's more a mirror you are looking into.

Answer: Desserts

Ras malai is a cottage cheese based Indian dessert. Milk, sugar syrup and various spices, often including saffron, are added to the cheese during cooking. Tavuk göksü is an unusual dessert based on chicken breast meat. Cinnamon, almonds and various sweetening components are added to the minced meat to make a sweet treat. Finally, the cherpumple is the dessert aficionado's answer to the turducken - it consists of three types of pie: pumpkin as the outer layer, apple for the middle one and cherry for the core.

Strange clue: Much like a dessert is the end of a dinner, you're now really close to the end. Or was it the beginning?

Answer: Fir

The fir is the conifer called "Tanne" in German (Tannenbaum literally translates as "fir tree") and the most traditional Christmas tree although at least in Europe a large percentage of the Christmas trees advertised as firs are actually spruces. The Nordmann fir, native to mountainous regions of the Caucasus and growing at altitudes of 900 to 2000 meters (2700 to 6000 ft), however is a true fir. Large plantations of these trees exclusively serve the huge demand for Christmas trees, although there are also Christmas trees being harvested from reforestation efforts. In this kind of reforestation effort, a large number of trees are initially planted on an area and most are harvested, but the strongest and fastest growing are left standing as a permanent forest.

Strange clue: Omega and Alpha. You're back home.