FunTrivia Sci / Tech Mix: Vol 32 Quiz

Answer: It contains mercury which is poisonous

Mercurochrome was a trade name for the chemical merbromin. In 1918, Hugh H. Young discovered its antiseptic potential. A tincture of 2% merbromin was dissolved in ethyl alcohol and widely marketed. It contained no chromium, despite the trade name. The US, Switzerland, Brazil, France and Germany have since outlawed it because it contains mercury which is a potent deadly poison. Clever marketers then rebranded an unrelated chlorhexidine solution as "Mercurochrome" although it contains no merbromin whatsoever.

Question by player FatherSteve

Answer: swallowing

Sometimes during periods of intense anxiety, people focus too much on the swelling in their throat. Since it's hard to stop panicking once you have started, you can try to head it off by distracting yourself so that you're not focusing so much on the swallowing reflex. Deglutition is the complex process whereby food is transferred from the mouth through the pharynx and esophagus.

A sneeze might be described as an upper respiratory cough. A cough is a mechanism for clearing obstructions of the airway.

Question by player undudelike

Answer: Brimstone

Brimstone or sulfur can produce a blue-colored flame which has a high temperature. It comes in a variety of colors such as white and yellow that can be found mostly in areas with close proximity to volcanoes.

Question by player Reserved1

Answer: Light scattering

Light scattering is a process in which smaller particles scatter light producing sights like rainbows, the blue sky (Raleigh scattering) and halos. The Tyndall effect is also caused by light scattering and it causes the iris of some individuals to appear blue, green or hazel.

In 2019 an estimated 8% of the world population and 17% of the population of the USA had blue eyes.

Question by player Triviaballer

Answer: lunula

The lunula appears at week 14 of gestation. Not everyone's is visible. The name comes from the Latin word for moon.

Question by player Poppet18

Answer: trigger hairs

The Venus flytrap has leaves that are modified into traps and covered with trigger hairs. These trigger hairs are like tiny sensors that detect when an insect lands on the trap. When an insect touches two or more of these hairs, it triggers the Venus flytrap and the leaves close swiftly.

This happens because the rapid movement of charged particles, called ions, across the cell membranes of the trap cause it to rapidly absorb water and become stiff. This stiffness causes the trap to close around the insect, trapping it so the Venus flytrap can then digest it.

Question by player trident

Answer: Atacama Desert

Paranal Observatory is located in Cerro Paranal in Chile and it is one of the largest astronomical observatories. It contains the Very Large Telescope (VLT) which consists of four individual telescopes named Antu, Kueyen, Melipal and Yepun, which are names for astronomical objects in the Mapuche language.

The arid, cloudless conditions and absence of light pollution makes the Atacama Desert an ideal location for astronomical observatories. The other three choices are also locations of major observatories.

Question by player tiye

Answer: Agronomy

Derived from the same word roots as Agriculture, Agronomy is the branch of Agriculture dealing with field crop production and soil management. Major aspects of soil management are to control the texture, acidity, nutrient availabity, organic content and moisture holding capacity of the medium in which the crop is to be grown.

Question by player mehaul

Answer: Dogwood

There are many species of dogwood found throughout the world. In the United States, the flowering dogwood is the most popular. Its name may derive from the Old English word "dag," meaning "to pierce." Dogwood is very hard and fine grained, making it useful for the manufacture of skewers, arrows, and other sharp objects.

The flowering dogwood has distinctive bark that looks like small squares. Dogwood is used in many folk medicines, and its berries provide food for birds. It is often planted as an ornamental tree.

Question by player daver852

Answer: Facebook

Instagram was created by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger and launched in 2010. It enabled users to upload photographs and add inbuilt filters to enhance them. The name Instagram was created by combining the words instant camera and telegram. It later added features like hashtags where users could add relevant tags to the pictures so that similar photographs could be found using the search feature.

The growing user base and potential synergies with Facebook led to its acquisition by the latter in 2012 in a deal believed to be valued at ~USD 1 billion.

Question by player zorba_scank