A Medley of Motley Miscellany [5] Quiz

Answer: Fossilized turds

Some people find joy in collecting spoons. Some collect baseball cards. Sadly, other people are called to collect coprolites, or fossilized animal feces. They're called trace fossils because they record evidence of an animal's activity rather than being part of the animal's body. The activity being recorded, in this case, is pooping.

Truth told, some coprolites are actually pretty informative. For example, fossilized dung from giant ground sloths has helped scientists determine what kinds of plants they ate, including yucca, saltbush, cacti, and Joshua-tree fruit. That's something I didn't know. Other coprolites have preserved evidence of prey and even remnants of tiny insects. I can't speak for you, but it brings me great joy that a million years after I'm dead, someone just might be keeping my fossilized poop in a box somewhere.

Answer: Ring Jousting

Jousting became the official sport of Maryland in 1962. That gave Maryland the distinction of being the first state in the U.S. to adopt an official sport, even if that sport is jousting of all things. The legislation described it as the "age old equestrian sport of Jousting", which I guess is a good enough reason. Maryland's version is usually a ring tournament, where riders gallop down a course and use a lance to spear small rings hung over the track. Competitions today go all out, retaining as much of the medieval pageantry that Marylanders could ever want.

As for the false choices, I regret to inform you that they are all real.

Answer: Blood on the Tracks

"Blood on the Tracks" was released in January 1975, and it includes such tracks as "Tangled Up in Blue", "Shelter from the Storm", "Idiot Wind", and "You're a Big Girl Now". While Dylan pushed back against some of the interpretations of this album, it's certainly influenced in large part by the turmoil in his marriage to Sara Dylan.

The general mood of the album is heartbreak, bitterness, and regret. "Idiot Wind" in particular is an unusually bitter song, with lyrics like "One day you'll be in the ditch, flies buzzin' around your eyes, blood on your saddle".

It's definitely not an album to listen to when you need something to cheer you up.

Answer: True

It's true, particularly for the desert-dwelling kangaroo rats of North America. Some of these guys can live their entire lives without drinking water. Instead, they get the water they need from the seeds they eat, along with additional water produced through metabolism. Their kidneys are also overachievers when it comes to conserving water, while specialized nasal passages reduce water loss during breathing.

Camels are no slouches, though. They can go for as long as two weeks between drinks, depending on conditions, species, diet, and workload.

Answer: Jesus's foreskin

I warned you that people will collect anything. The "Holy Prepuce", also called the "Holy Foreskin", was the name given to a number of relics that several churches throughout Europe claimed to be the foreskin of Jesus. The Gospel of Luke records that Jesus was circumcised on the eighth day after his birth, in accordance with Jewish tradition. Luke leaves out any mention of whether it was preserved, and if so, why.

In any event, later Christian churches and traditions produced competing claims about its exact whereabouts. Historical sources give different counts, with figures ranging from seven or eight claimants to more than twenty locations, depending on the period and how the claims are counted.

Answer: Kiwifruit

Originally known as the Chinese gooseberry, kiwifruit was introduced to New Zealand in the early 20th century (1904 to be precise). From there it was ready to conquer the world, or as much of the world as the weird little fruit could. The name "kiwifruit" (or just "kiwi") became popular in the 1960s, with partial thanks at least to political and marketing concerns.

It was renamed after New Zealand's national bird, partly because the new name was considered more politically and commercially appealing to Americans at the height of the Cold War.

Some Aussies and Kiwis no doubt still remember the old name.

Answer: Alexandria

Cleopatra VII was born in Alexandria, Egypt, in 69 BC. She was part of the Ptolemaic dynasty, a Macedonian royal family that ruled Egypt after the death of Alexander the Great, beginning with Ptolemy I, one of Alexander's generals. Despite her family's Greek heritage, Cleopatra deeply embraced Egyptian culture and presented herself as an Egyptian ruler.

At the time, Alexandria was the capital of Ptolemaic Egypt and a must-visit destination for any self-respecting intellectual or merchant in the ancient Mediterranean.

Answer: Jack Foley

Jack Foley was an American sound-effects guy whose name became attached to the art of creating and recording live sound effects for films. The technique, which is now known as "Foley", uses performers reproducing sounds such as footsteps, clothing rustles, door creaks, and the clatter of objects while studying the film.

The goal is to make the sounds match the action on screen. They often do this with tremendous precision, although sometimes sounds are exaggerated for a film (the sound of punches being thrown is an often-cited example).

Answer: True

During World War II, the British government and the Ministry of Food began promoting the idea that eating carrots could help people see in the dark. This campaign coincided with Britain's use of radar to detect German aircraft, and the carrot story helped provide a plausible public explanation for the RAF's effectiveness.

In reality, Vitamin A, found in carrots, helps maintain normal vision. It won't give you raccoon-like superpowers, as amazing as that would be.

Answer: The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle

The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, developed in 1927 by Werner Heisenberg, puts a fundamental limit on just how precisely certain pairs of properties of a quantum system can be known at the same time. In particular, the more precisely momentum is known, the less precisely position can be known (and vice versa).

This is not simply some problem caused by imperfect measuring equipment. It's a built-in feature of the quirky world of quantum mechanics. If you ever get pulled over for speeding, you could try to argue that it's impossible for your position and velocity to be known simultaneously. If you do, let me know how it works out.