The 2,262nd Mixed General Trivia Quiz #2

Answer: Alva

Thomas Edison was born Thomas Alva Edison in 1847, and that middle name has an interesting ring in Scandinavia. In Sweden, Alva is a feminine given name that has been in use for generations.

One famous Alva was Swedish economist and diplomat Alva Myrdal, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1982. Edison himself picked up the nickname "The Wizard of Menlo Park", which definitely has a better sound to it. He held more than 1,000 US patents and is credited with inventions like the phonograph and the first practical incandescent light bulb.

Answer: Mars

Yeah, you'd be the first. Olympus Mons is the largest known mountain of the Solar System , and you'll find it on Mars if you've the travelling type. It's a shield volcano so enormous that it makes Mount Everest look kinda cute in comparison.

The volcano towers above the Martian landscape at about 13.6 miles (22 kilometers for everyone else), and its base spreads across an area roughly the size of Poland. Because Mars has weaker gravity and no active plate tectonics constantly reshaping the crust, volcanoes there were able to keep growing for ages.

If you're looking to make the trip, you'll want to wait until Mars is in opposition, then go really, really far up.

Answer: Women's suffrage

Way to go, New Zealand. The country made history in 1893 when it became the first self-governing nation to grant women the right to vote in national elections. The suffrage movement was driven by people like Kate Sheppard. Her petitions gathered tens of thousands of signatures back when going viral meant a whole lot of volunteers beating the pavement.

It would still take a couple decades before they could stand in parliament. Nobody's perfect.

Fun fact: One petition by Kate Sheppard was so long it reportedly stretched hundreds of feet. I don't know what you're going to do with that information, but for those of you who think I write too much at the end of my quizzes... well, you could be listening to Kate Sheppard explain the cause of 'old person smell' if you preferred.

Answer: Cat

Mr. Bigglesworth was the beloved hairless cat owned by Dr. Evil in the "Austin Powers" movies. Don't blame me - I inherited this question.

The joke actually began with an ordinary fluffy cat in the opening cryogenic freezing scene of "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery". Then after the thawing process the poor critter emerged completely hairless. The kitty became one of the franchise's running gags, particularly during villainous, over-the-top monologues.

Answer: True

Maine officially designated the moose as its state animal in 1979. It's fitting for a place where these monstrous abominations of creation casually wander through forests, marshes, and occasionally into traffic. The state is home to one of the largest moose populations in the lower 48 states, with tens of thousands roaming mostly in the northern regions. Adult bulls can weigh more than 1,000 pounds (about 45,000 decagrams) and sport antlers that look like something to hang Christmas ornaments on.

Answer: Monty Python

And now for something completely different. Monty Python changed sketch comedy with its absurd humor, bizarre animation, impeccable timing, and the delightful superpower of turning things like a dead parrot into some of the most quotable moments to ever hit the screen. Pining for the fjords indeed.

The six members first came together for the television series "Monty Python's Flying Circus" in 1969, and the show became a cult phenomenon, because of course it did. The troupe later created films like "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" and "Life of Brian". You'll know a fan by their endless quoting of the - Ni!

Answer: Feces

If you have a weak stomach, you might want to skip this. Although, technically, "yellow soup" might have been just the thing to treat that weak stomach back in the 4th century.

So yeah, medical texts from around the 4th century describe a treatment in China called "yellow soup". What was it? (Last chance!) It was a slurry made from fermented or dried human fecal matter from a healthy person that was given orally to patients suffering from severe diarrhea or food poisoning. And you thought cough syrup tasted bad.

Although nobody understood why it worked, it's described as having "brought patients back from the brink of death". So maybe it was worth it.

It sounds gross, because it is gross, but the idea behind it turned out to have a surprisingly real medical basis. The treatment is now recognized as an early form of what modern medicine calls fecal microbiota transplantation, or FMT if that's too much to remember. In FMT, feces are transferred to the patient's colon to restore balance in their digestive system.

Answer: Weird Al

"My Bologna" was the debut single by Weird Al Yankovic. It was released on Capitol Records in late December 1979. The song was a parody of The Knack's hit "My Sharona", and it launched one of the dumbest and most endearing careers in pop culture history. Weird Al recorded the original version of the single in a bathroom across from his college radio station, because he liked the acoustics. So that happened.

The homemade recording found its way onto the nationally syndicated "Dr. Demento Show", where listeners loved it. Even better, Doug Fieger of The Knack heard the parody and helped the young Mr. Yankovic land a record deal.

Answer: Vertebrata

Humans belong to the subphylum Vertebrata. It's a pretty big group of animals that includes all creatures with backbones. Fish, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals all fall under the subphylum, so don't be too proud of yourself.

And stop slouching.

The larger phylum is Chordata, which also includes some oddball relatives like sea squirts and lancelets.

Answer: Egg

The classic Aussie pizza is infamously topped with bacon and a cracked egg, typically baked right on top until the white sets and the yolk stays a little runny. If it were being served to POWs, it would be considered a war crime, but Australians have long demonstrated a pretty fearless relationship with breakfast foods where they don't belong (see also "Aussie hamburger").

I'll remind you that the continent was settled by criminals.