A Mishmash of Hodgepodge Trivia Quiz

Answer: Duke

In the British peerage, Duke is the highest hereditary rank below the monarch. The title historically denoted individuals closely tied to the crown, often ruling important regions or commanding armies. While today the title is largely ceremonial, it still carries prestige, history, and a certain expectation of having at least one portrait painted while wearing an uncomfortable amount of velvet.

Answer: Listerine

Listerine was created in 1879 by Dr. Joseph Lawrence as an alcohol-based antiseptic inspired by the antiseptic work of Sir Joseph Lister. Lawrence named the preparation "Listerine" in honor of Lister, whose pioneering use of carbolic acid and antiseptic technique transformed surgery by dramatically reducing post-operative infections. Today Listerine is just another mouthwash, unless you're performing your own experiments at home.

Answer: Elbow

The cubital tunnel is located at the elbow, specifically on the inner side where the ulnar nerve passes through a groove behind a bony bump called the medial epicondyle. If you have ever hit your "funny bone" and felt that magical zing, that was your ulnar nerve giving you grief from inside this tunnel.

It is not particularly funny, but the name remains, because, you know, anything - including nervous system pain - can be entertainment if you're bored enough.

Answer: Methane gas

Firedamp is the miner's term for methane gas, which often collects in poorly ventilated coal seams. Unfortunately, it is also highly flammable and explosive, especially when mixed with air in the right proportions. Many disasters in 18th- and 19th-century mines occurred when open-flame lamps or sparks ignited these gas pockets, sometimes with nasty results indeed.

The danger of firedamp led to major safety innovations, including the invention of the Davy safety lamp in 1815. The lamp's fine mesh prevented flames from igniting methane outside the lamp, drastically reducing explosions and saving untold lives. While modern mining uses advanced ventilation, sensors, and electrical safety systems, firedamp remains a reminder of how hazardous early mining work truly was.

Answer: American Psycho

"American Psycho" was published in 1991 and is one of Bret Easton Ellis's most infamous and controversial works. The novel follows Patrick Bateman, a wealthy New York investment banker who leads a double life as a violent criminal, though the book intentionally blurs whether his crimes actually occur or are merely hallucinations of his addled mind.

The tone is a blend of dark satire, violence, and biting commentary on consumerism, making it a book that people either admire for its bold message or condemn for its graphic content.

The final line, "This is not an exit," appears on a sign Bateman sees on a door and neatly summarizes the novel's bleak message.

Answer: HMS Dreadnought

HMS Dreadnought was a revolutionary British battleship launched in 1906, and her name quickly became shorthand for an entire new class of naval warships. She was faster and more heavily armed than anything afloat at the time, featuring an "all-big-gun" layout and turbine propulsion that made earlier battleships obsolete almost overnight. The ship was such a leap forward that even relatively new pre-dreadnought vessels were instantly considered outdated the moment she touched water.

The launch of the Dreadnought escalated international naval competition, especially between the United Kingdom and Germany, helping fuel the tension-plagued political environment leading up to World War I. Admiralties around the world suddenly had to rethink budgets, strategies, and fleet compositions. When the inevitable war finally arrived, there was only one major fleet battle (The Battle of Jutland) involving dreadnoughts and super-dreadnoughts. Neither side was keen to lose their precious - and expensive - new toys.

Answer: Saint Andrew

Saint Andrew was one of the Twelve Apostles and is traditionally remembered as a fisherman who brought his brother Peter to meet Jesus. Over the centuries he became venerated across wide parts of Christendom and acquired a rather impressive resume of patronages. Among them are Scotland, Greece, Russia, Romania, and Ukraine, which celebrate his feast day on November 30th.

In Scotland his feast is particularly prominent. Saint Andrew's Day marks the start of winter festivities, and the saltire (a diagonal cross said to be Andrew's) is woven into Scottish flags.

Answer: Millard Fillmore

The Know-Nothings were a nationalist, nativist, anti-immigrant, and anti-Catholic movement. They believed America should be run by native-born Protestants and pushed conspiracy theories that Catholic priests and bishops were plotting to control U.S. politics. Their platform demanded harsh restrictions on immigration, a 21-year residency before citizenship, and exclusion of foreign-born people from voting or holding office. They openly targeted Irish and German immigrants, portraying them as threats to American jobs, culture, and democracy. It was all about fear and keeping power in the hands of "old stock" Protestants.

Millard Fillmore, the 13th U.S. president, was the American Party's (Know-Nothing) presidential nominee in 1856. The party tapped Fillmore as its ticket in a bitterly divided year. His running mate was Andrew J. Donelson. Fillmore finished third nationally but carried one state, Maryland, earning eight electoral votes. He was the most visible candidate to run on the American Party ticket in a national election.

Answer: Malawi

Nyasaland officially became Malawi on July 6, 1964, marking the end of British colonial rule. Its independence was part of the broader wave of African nations breaking free from European colonial powers in the 1950s and 1960s. The new name comes from the Maravi people, an ethnic group that historically inhabited the region. Located in southeastern Africa, Malawi is famous for its stunning Lake Malawi, a massive scenic freshwater lake teeming with fish species found nowhere else in the world, earning it the nickname "Lake of Stars."

Answer: Cow

The term vaccine comes from the Latin word "vacca", meaning "cow." This dates back to Edward Jenner's late-18th-century not-quite-ethical experiments using cowpox to protect people from smallpox. (The technical term that Jenner used in his publications was "variolae vaccinae", which literally means "smallpox of the cow".) He noticed that milkmaids who had contracted the relatively mild cowpox were immune to deadly smallpox, and thus the age of variolation (intentionally infecting patients with smallpox through small cuts in the skin) ended and the age of vaccination was born.