Pick n' Mix: Part TWENTY-TWO Trivia Quiz

Answer: Jorogumo

"Jorōgumo" literally translates to "entangling bride" in Japanese. Jorōgumo is a powerful yōkai, that is, supernatural creature. The Jorōgumo will use her beauty, charm and sometimes plays a flute in order to seduce men, only to turn into a spider, bind them with her web and devour them. Tales of the Jorōgumo serve as a warning to the dangers of temptation and the power of deceptive outward appearances.

Inspiration for the Jorōgumo legend comes from a species of large, brightly coloured golden orb-weaver, the Joro spider (Trichonephila clavata). Legend states that once a Joro spider lives to 400 years it will become a Jorōgumo. The Jorōgumo is capable of possessing and manipulating other spiders, utilizing them as spies or fire breathing assassins to burn down the homes of people who grow suspicious of her true form. It is said that the only way for a man to escape her luring ways is to be wholly in love with another person.

However, the Jorōgumo is not always depicted as a harmful character in Japanese mythology, and is in fact honoured in Sendai, as a benevolent guardian that saves people from drowning. The legend of Kashikobuchi pool states that one of the Jorōgumo's victims managed to escape her silk by tying it to a tree stump and then letting the water drag it down and break it. Instead of being incensed that she had lost her meal, the Jorōgumo was impressed, demonstrating an appreciation for human intelligence saying "Kashikoi, kashikoi" that is "very wise, very wise." This is where "Kashikobuchi" gets its name from, translating roughly to "wise pool."

Answer: Ceres

Ahuna Mons was discovered in 2015 by NASA's Dawn spacecraft. It is named after the Ahuna harvest festival practiced by the Sümi Naga people in India.

Ahuna Mons is unique on Ceres, with the rest of the dwarf planet mainly displaying craters. Ahuna Mons is a cryovolcano, that is, a volcano that erupts rocks, mud, salt and water, known as cryomagma. The mountain is thought to be composed of a significant amount of sodium carbonate, which gives it its bright appearance in contrast to the surroundings. These sodium carbonate deposits give the mountain bright, vertical streaks.

Ahuna Mons is estimated to be around 16,400 feet (3 miles, or 5 km) high at its peak and is thought to be relatively young in geographical terms at between ten to hundreds of million years old, due to its smooth surface and lack of craters.

Answer: Rudolf Von Reding Biberegg

Rudolf Von Reding Biberegg, also known as Baron Von Rreding, was an elderly tourist on Komodo Island, Indonesia, in 1974 when he is presumed to have been killed by Komodo dragons. The Baron was a Swiss lawyer and radio executive, with heritage from the prominent Von Reding family from the canton of Schwyz.

Rudolf was an avid nature enthusiast who became separated from his tourist group and disappeared on the island. Rudolph was resting after injuring his knee. The guide had walked to the village for help, while the rest of the group continued their nature expedition. When the guide returned, Rudolph was nowhere to be found. The group would later find his camera, glasses and one shoe on the island, smeared with blood.

Although the circumstances of Rudolph's death remain unclear, it is understood that he was eaten by the Komodo dragons on the island. It is widely accepted that Rudolph was either attacked by one or more of the dragons or, considering his age, he could have died of a stroke or a heart attack in the intense tropical heat, and his body was consumed by the dragons.

A white cross stands on Komodo Island in his memory, with an epitaph that reads "He loved nature throughout his life"

Answer: Richfield Coliseum

Opened in 1974, Richfield Coliseum once stood in rural Ohio, approximately halfway between Cleveland and Akron. The stadium was strategically built here in order to attract sports fans and concert goers from both cities. The location however often resulted in severe traffic congestion due to there being only one main access road. Richfield Coliseum's first concert was Frank Sinatra in 1974. The last concert at the venue was Roger Daltry in 1994.

Richfield Coliseum was home to the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers, who moved their home ground to Gund Arena (now called Rocket Arena) in Cleveland in 1994. Following this, Richfield Coliseum remained vacant until its demolition in 1999.

Muhammad Ali and Chuck Wepner fought in Richfield Coliseum on March 24, 1975. Ali was the heavyweight champion at the time and was expected to win. Ali was knocked down by Wepner in the ninth round, but Ali claimed that Wepner had stepped on his foot to achieve this. Ali's statement is supported by video recordings of the fight. After Ali had been knocked down, Wepner is reported to have bragged to his manager "Start the car up, Al, we're going to the bank, we're millionaires!" to which his manager replied that Ali was getting up and he looked "pissed off." Ali would win the match, and their fight would inspire the "Rocky" films.

Answer: Dreamtime

Released in 1984, the Cult's debut album, "Dreamtime" contains strong themes of Native American and Aboriginal Australian mythology. The band's lead singer, Ian Astbury, had a strong interest in Native American culture, and the lyrics to the album's "Horse Nation" song is heavily inspired by "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" by Dee Brown, a book about the colonisation of the Native Americans and the destructive effects it had on their communities. The song "Spiritwalker" nods to shamanism and the song "Butterflies" references the Hopi tribe's butterfly dance.

The first 30,000 copies of this album featured a limited edition recording of the band live in London in 1984 entitled "Dreamtime Live at the Lyceum."

Answer: Nitrogen trichloride

Also known as "trichloramine," nitrogen trichloride is a yellow, highly unstable and reactive chemical compound notable for its prominent chlorine smell. Nitrogen trichloride is very sensitive to heat, light and even movement. Its decomposition rate into chlorine and nitrogen gas is rapid, making it explode easily.

French chemist, Pierre Louis Dulong, was the first to establish and discover nitrogen trichloride in 1811. As its discoverer, he was unaware of the explosive nature of the compound. Starting in October 1811, Dulong was injured several times by his experiments with nitrogen trichloride. This resulted in him losing several fingers and sight in one of his eyes. Dulong was so dedicated to his experiments that he kept his accidents and injuries a secret, leading to other scientists becoming injured while experimenting with the compound.

In October 1812, Sir Humphry Davy sustained severe injuries from his experiments with nitrogen trichloride. The compound exploded resulted in glass becoming lodged in Davy's cornea and damaging his eyesight. Following his injuries, Davy hired Michael Faraday as his lab assistant, who was also later injured by exploding nitrogen trichloride.

Answer: Vladimir Komarov

Vladimir Komarov (1927-1967) was a highly respected aerospace engineer and astronaut. He was the first Soviet to fly to space more than once. His rise to success in space travel was not without difficulty, with him being declared unfit for space travel twice due to having heart irregularities, but Komarov was persistent.

Despite engineers observing over 200 faults in the spacecraft, Soyuz 1 was set to launch by the Soviet authorities with a political motive. The goal was for the launch to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution. Komorov and his understudy, Yuri Gagarin, were both reportedly aware of the spacecraft's flaws. It is widely reported (although possibly embellished) that Komorov chose to fly to stop Yuri Gagarin, a national hero in Russia, from flying instead.

Although the launch was successful initially on April 23, 1967, one of the solar panels did not deploy, which caused a power outage and complications with the spacecraft's automatic stabilization systems. When Komorov was re-entering after his 19th orbit, his parachute failed, likely caused by its container becoming deformed due to atmospheric pressure changes. The backup parachute became entangled upon being deployed.

Komorov's last words are disputed. Soviet sources assert that his last words were "Thank you, tell everyone it happened" in a calm manner. However, unverified reports from American listening posts in Turkey claim that Komorov was deeply distressed and cursing the engineers who had sent him to his death. What is for certain is that the capsule containing Komorov hit the ground at 90 miles (140 km) per hour in Russia's Orenburg Oblast, killing him instantly. His ashes are in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis.

Komorov's death postponed the Soviet space programme by 18 months, where significant health and safety amendments were implemented.

Answer: Janko Matúska

Translating to "Lightning over the Tatras," "Nad Tatrou sa blýska" was written in 1844 by Janko Matúska (1821-1877) when he was a student. He wrote it as a protest song after a teacher he admired, Ľudovít Stúr, was removed from his position at his university due to the insistence of the Hungarian authorities, who did not approve of his pro-Slovak opinions.

The tune from the song was taken from a Slovak folk song, "Kopala studienku" ("She was digging a well"). The song lyrics use imagery of storms over the Tatra mountains to symbolise the need for Slovak unity and dangers to their national identity.

Answer: Gaeng Som Pla

Gaeng Som Pla is a sour Thai fish curry that is particularly popular in the south of Thailand. The dish's name translates in English to "sour curry fish". "Gaeng" means curry, "som" means "sour" and "pla" means fish. In the south of Thailand it is often called "Gaeng Lueang" that is, "yellow curry" because of the yellow colouring the turmeric gives the dish, in contrast to the central Thai rendition of the meal which has orange colouring.

The dish is water-based as opposed to coconut milk-based, making Gaeng Som Pla different to most other Thai curries.

Answer: Zheleznogorsk

Located in Russia's Krasnoyarsk Krai region, Zheleznogorsk was established in 1950, but did not appear on Russian civilian maps until 1992, under the orders of Boris Yeltsin. The city was specifically developed for the production of plutonium. Access to the city is still limited, which requires special permission to visit.

Zheleznogorsk is home to the Mining and Chemical Combine nuclear facility. However, upon talks with the U.S in 2010, Zheleznogorsk's last plutonium-producing reactors was closed down. The city is also home to Russia's largest satellite manufacturer, ISS Reshetnev (Information Satellite Systems). Zheleznogorsk's main nuclear production facilities were constructed inside a granite mountain as protection from potential foreign attacks.

The flag of Zheleznogorsk features a red background with a gold/yellow bear biting into a white atom. It was officially recognised as the city's flag in 2002. The flag represents the wild nature of Siberia taking on nuclear power, encapsulating what the city was originally constructed for.

Answer: Nickel

Nickel gets its name from the German word "kupfernickel" which means "Devil's copper." German miners called nickel this because although the ore appeared to be copper, it did not produce any copper, irritating the miners.

Nickel is the second most common element in the Earth's core, second only to iron. Nickel is one of the four metals that are ferromagnetic (highly magnetic) at room temperature, the other three being cobalt, iron and gadolinium.

Nickel's resistance to corrosion and heat as well as its durability and ductility means it has many uses and applications. The American 5-cent coin consists of 25% nickel and 75% copper, with nickel being used because of its anti corrosive properties. For the same reason, nickel is often used in alloys in the construction of jet engines, boat propellers, gas turbines etc.

Answer: HMS Onslaught

HMS Onslaught was a Admiralty M-class destroyer warship employed by the British Royal Navy in 1915.

The Battle of Jutland took place on June 1, 1916. SMS Pommern was not as technologically up to date as the British ships were. Once SMS Pommern was hit by HMS Onslaught's torpedo, the ship suffered a large internal explosion when its ammunition magazines were detonated upon impact. The subsequent explosion split the ship in two. The ship's entire crew of 839 men were killed. SMS Pommern was however able to return fire during the battle, killing HMS Onslaught's captain, Lieutenant Commander Arthur G. Onslow.

HMS Onslaught was sold for scrap in 1921.

Answer: Hassiba Boulmerka

Hassiba Boulmerka was born in 1968 in Constantine, Algeria. She began to take running seriously from the age of ten, training for years to become an Olympic middle distance runner. She became the first African woman to win a world track-and-field championship, and also Algeria's first Olympic gold medal winner in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

Hassiba Boulmerka's rise to winning her gold medal was not without difficulty. During the early 1990s, Algeria was experiencing a rise in Islamic fanaticism, leading to Boulmerka receiving death threats from her home country and accusations of showing too much of her body while running. She is quoted as declaring her gold medal win as for "every Algerian woman, every Arabic woman."

Answer: Liberty Bell Ruby

Unearthed in East Africa in the 1950s, the Liberty Bell Ruby weighed around four pounds and was carved into the shape of the Liberty Bell in 1976. The sculpture had 50 diamonds embedded in it, representing all 50 US states.

On November 1, 2011 in Delaware, four masked, armed men aggressively entered the jewellery store the sculpture was being stored at. They restrained employees of the store with cable ties and used hammers to smash the cases. The Liberty Bell Ruby, valued at approximately $2 million, was among the items the robbers acquired. Although four men were arrested, there is no trace of the sculpture.

The Liberty Bell Ruby has not been found since. American law enforcement are not hopeful that it will ever be found.

Answer: Hanyusuchus

Hanyusuchus (Hanyusuchus sinensis) gets its name from Chinese poet and politician, Han Yu (768-824). The name translates to "Han Yu's crocodile." It is suspected that humans hunted Hanyusuchus to extinction between the 15-18th centuries because of chop marks found in their remains.

Hanyusuchus is considered an important discovery because its skeleton shows strong evidence of a link between the Indian gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) and the false gharial (Tomistoma schlegelii). This provides a significant understanding of crocodilian ancestry.

Hanyusuchus was an apex predator, measuring between 17-20 feet long. At the back of its skull, Hanyusuchus featured an expanded sinus cavity (pterygoid bulla) which suggests it was capable of loud vocalizations. Historical records of Hanyusuchus describe it as being capable of producing "thunder-like sounds in the night."

Answer: Automotive

Rhodium (Rh) has the atomic number 45, and is a rare, silvery-white metal which is highly resistant to corrosion. It was discovered by English chemist, William Hyde Wollaston, in 1803. Rhodium is around 100 times rarer than gold. There are no mines dedicated solely to mining rhodium. Rhodium is mainly produced as a by-product of other metals such as platinum and nickel.

Rhodium is mainly used in catalytic converters, which decrease the expulsion of harmful nitrogen oxides in vehicle exhaust. Rhodium is uniquely appropriate for converting nitrogen oxides into nitrogen and oxygen.

Almost 80% of rhodium is mined in South Africa. This creates significant supply chain issues. The South African mining industry has frequent challenges such as electricity disruptions, striking miners, political tensions and social unrest. The automotive industry globally relies heavily on South Africa for its rhodium, and is highly vulnerable to any issues the country has that effect the supply chain.

Answer: Saint Firmina

Living in the 3rd century, Saint Firmina was a Roman martyr known for her dedication to Christianity and resolve during Roman Emperor Diocletian's persecution of Christians. She was from a prominent family with her father being Calpurnius, the Prefect of the City of Rome at the time.

Saint Firmina is known for her miracle at sea, which also led to her being designated the patron saint of sailors. During a sea voyage to Centumcellae (modern-day Civitavecchia, located on the west coast of Italy), her prayers were said to have calmed a terrible storm that threatened the lives of her and everyone else in the same ship.

A high Roman official, Olympiadis, took a romantic interest in Firmina and attempted to seduce her. Not only did she rebuff his advances, she converted him to Christianity, which he was later martyred for. Saint Firmina herself was martyred for her faith in the city of Amelia in central Italy, a town she is also the patron saint of. In modern times, the cities of Amelia and Civitavecchia hold an annual relay race to pass a torch between cities, honouring their twinning due to the connection to Saint Firmina.

Answer: Saraighat Bridge

Constructed and inaugurated by 1962 shortly after the Indo-Chinese war, the Saraighat Bridge is a two tier bridge, with the lower tier carrying trains and the upper tier carrying cars. India's first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, inaugurated the bridge.

The bridge is named after a naval battle of 1671, the Battle of Saraighat. In this battle Lachit Borphukan, an Ahom general, successfully led his army to fight the Mughal forces and prevented the capture of Assam.

Answer: Alfonso I d'Este

Titian's "Bacchus and Ariadne" depicts the emotional moment when Bacchus (also known as Dionysus), the god of wine, catches sight of Ariadne and falls in love with her. In Greek mythology, Princess Ariadne, the daughter of King Minos of Crete, was abandoned on the island of Naxos by Theseus, after Ariadne had helped him escape the Minotaur.

Alfonso I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, Modena, and Reggio (1476-1534) was renowned in the Italian army and was particularly proficient in artillery. He was the son of Ercole I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara and Eleanor of Naples. The wealthy duke wished to create a personal art gallery dedicated to mythology, painted by the most notable painters at the time.

For this particular painting, Titian was not the first choice of artist. Raphael had been paid to produce the artwork but he died suddenly in 1520. Other artists such as Fra Bartolommeo were involved in the duke's art project, but he died in 1517. Michelangelo would not cooperate with the duke, therefore the piece was left to be painted by Titian. This was a fantastic opportunity for young Titian, who was around 30, to showcase his talents and establish a good reputation outside of Venice.

In order to portray Ariadne's vibrant blue robe and a bright blue sky, Titian used ultramarine. He could not have done this without the duke's considerable wealth. Ultramarine was made from crushed lapis lazuli gemstones from Afghanistan, and was the most expensive pigment of the painting, with other pigments being up to 100 times cheaper.

The painting is not strictly traditional to the story of Bacchus and Ariadne, with Titian painting two cheetahs pulling Bacchus' chariot as opposed to tigers. This was because the duke had pet cheetahs on his grounds and Titian could study them to paint them realistically. A small, black dog features in the painting is widely believed to be the duke's dog.

Answer: Authors

Established in 1971, the Gouden Griffel translates to "Golden Slate Pencil" in reference to children who used traditional tools to write on slate. The award is given every year to an author who writes for children or teenagers, during the Dutch Kinderboekenweek (Children's Book Week). The award is only given to books that are originally written and printed in Dutch. Translated books can be awarded the Zilveren Griffel (Silver Slate Pencil), but not the Gouden Griffel.

To celebrate 50 years of award giving, in 2004, a unique "Griffel der Griffels" (Slate Pencil of Slate Pencils) was established to award the best Dutch children's book of the past 50 years. The award went to "De brief voor de koning" ("The Letter for the King") by Tonke Dragt, who originally won the Gouden Griffel for this in 1963.