Assorted General Trivia Trivia Quiz

Answer: flying lemur

The colugo, often called the flying lemur, is neither a true lemur nor capable of powered flight. These gliding mammals are native to Southeast Asia, and the two living species are found in regions including the Malay Peninsula, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines.

They have a large membrane called a patagium that stretches from the neck to the limbs and tail, allowing them to glide long distances between trees. Despite the nickname, colugos are not closely related to lemurs; they belong to their own mammalian order, Dermoptera.

Answer: Tenerife

Tenerife is the biggest of Spain's Canary Islands, covering about 795 square miles. It sits off the northwest coast of Africa and is home to Mount Teide, Spain's highest peak and a dormant volcano.

Gran Canaria is the second-largest island at around 650 square miles and La Palma is 280 square miles. Majorca, which people sometimes mix up with the Canaries, is actually part of the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean.

Answer: Of Mice and Men

John Steinbeck first called his 1937 novella 'Something That Happened' before changing it to 'Of Mice and Men'. It's about two migrant ranch workers during the Great Depression and deals with dreams, loneliness, and friendship.

The title comes from Robert Burns' poem 'To a Mouse', which includes the line 'The best laid schemes o' mice an' men / Gang aft agley.' It went on to become one of Steinbeck's best-known works.

Answer: India collides with Asia

About 50 million years ago, the Indian subcontinent collided with the Asian continent. This geological event eventually helped create the Himalayan mountain range. The collision occurred as the Indian tectonic plate drifted northward after breaking away from the ancient supercontinent Gondwana.

The impact continues today, with the Himalayas still rising at a rate of about 5 millimetres per year as the plates continue to converge.

Answer: Concrete

When steel shortages became critical during World War I, tanks were sometimes fitted with makeshift concrete armour, but it wasn't a standard or practical solution for mass production.

More usefully, tanks carried fascines, large bundles of brushwood or wicker, on their roofs and dropped them into trenches so they could drive across.

Answer: Peppercorns

Black peppercorns were so valuable in medieval Europe that they were used to pay rent, taxes, and even dowries. 'Peppercorn rent' comes from this time, when a tiny payment like one peppercorn kept a lease legally valid, even though they weren't cheap back then.

Pepper was worth a lot, sometimes more than its weight in silver, but not quite more than gold by the pound in most markets.

Answer: Delaware

During the American Civil War, four border states, Kentucky, Missouri, Maryland, and Delaware, permitted slavery but remained loyal to the Union. Delaware was the first of these states to reject the Confederacy.

Although slavery was legal in these states, the proportion of slaves and slave owners was significantly lower than in the states that seceded. Their location made a big difference in helping the North win.

Answer: True

The first federal income tax in U.S. history came in 1861 during the Civil War to fund the Union. The Revenue Act of 1861 put a flat 3% tax on incomes over $800 (about $25,000 today), but it was replaced in 1862 by a graduated tax from 3% to 5%.

It expired in 1872, and a permanent federal income tax didn't return until the 16th Amendment in 1913.

Answer: River Tay

The River Tay is Scotland's longest river, stretching about 120 miles (193 km). It starts on the western slopes of Ben Lui, flows through Perthshire, and empties into the Firth of Tay near Dundee. It's also the biggest by water volume, and its estuary has both a road bridge and a railway bridge.

The Tay Railway Bridge collapsed in a storm in December 1879, killing 75 people in one of Britain's worst rail disasters.

Answer: Malaria

The word 'malaria' comes from the Italian 'mala aria', which means 'bad air'. People in medieval Italy thought it was caused by smelly fumes from swamps, even though mosquitoes breeding there were the real link.

The true cause, a parasite spread by Anopheles mosquitoes, was discovered in 1880 by French doctor Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran.