Anything Goes Number Seven Trivia Quiz

Answer: A rogue or adventurer

This Spanish word, the use of which dates back to at least 1622, when it was first put down in writing (but fails to state where), is a term to describe a type of rogue or adventurer who lives by his wits, while having a rakish good time along the way.

It brings to mind novels such as the 1749 "The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling" by Henry Fielding, or the character played by Johnny Depp in "The Pirates of the Caribbean" films. An adjective deriving from picaro, ie picaresque, applies to this kind of person or work as well.

Answer: No

Far from it, in fact. New Mexico was established by the Spanish a couple of centuries before the country of Mexico. Name-wise, that is. New Mexico was originally named Nuevo Mexico in 1563, with its capital of Santa Fe set up by the Spanish in 1610. It took its name from an Aztec Valley in an area of what is *now* Mexico, but was known at that time as New Spain, following the Spanish conquering of the area in 1521. Prior to that, it was known by the Aztecs as "Mexihco", with its people known as Mexica. New Spain developed and was populated by people of Spanish descent, or mixed descent with the original Mexica people, for the next 300 years, but following independence from Spain in 1821, New Spain was renamed the country of Mexico.

By then, New Mexico had been in existence for some 220 years. Talk about keeping it in the family.

It's all a little confusing.

Answer: A long period of time

The unusual word "yonks" to describe a very long period of time, came into use some time in the 1960s in Britain. It is thought to be a shortened version of the expression "donkey's years" which also described a long period of time, ie "I haven't seen John Doe for donkey's years". THAT expression, though, was originally "Donkey's ears" and again with reference to time.

In use since the start of the 1900s at least, its first recorded notation was in the 1916 novel, "Vermilion Box" by Edward Verral Lucas. Ears or years refers to either the long ears of a donkey or the age to which the little fellows are reputed to live.

It's no use arguing about this though - it'd be yonks before everyone agreed.

Answer: Sawed off the legs on her dining room chair.

British Statesman and Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881) and Queen Victoria (1819-1901) developed a warm friendship over the years, corresponding regularly (up to eight times a day on occasion), and with frequent face to face meetings at the palace. In 1877, during her visit to his beautiful home, Hughenden Manor, in Buckinghamshire, England, Disraeli went all out to make her visit as comfortable and pleasant as possible. Because the queen was very short (just under five feet tall), even for those times, Disraeli actually sawed off the legs of her dining room chair so that it would be easier for the queen to sit and rise gracefully. Queen Victoria was quite portly by that time in her reign, and it wouldn't do for Her Majesty to grunt and puff as she tried to wriggle out of a higher chair. The thought occurs though that this probably left only the queen's head appearing over the top of the table. That chair can still be seen at the Hughenden Manor today.

When Disraeli was so ill prior to his death in 1881, he had to regretfully decline a visit from the Queen for her final farewell. He remarked sadly to a friend that Victoria "would only ask me to take a message to Albert".

Answer: Punch drunk

A punch drunk boxer is one who has taken too many hard punches to his face and head. It leads to behaviour that is described as being almost intoxicated in pattern, where the boxer, even out of the ring, becomes confused and easily disoriented. The medical term for this syndrome is Chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Irreparable brain damage is its ultimate end.

This condition can show up either relatively soon during a boxer's career, or many years later. Other symptoms include mood changes, moodiness, behaviour problems, and even dementia. Dementia pugilistica, as it was once called, is also associated with other violent body contact sport as well. Dr Freud Eggs recommends, then, that a helmet be worn by any participant in rough sports - or switch to playing chess instead. That game also leaves its playing field littered with knocked out opponents.

Answer: Fresh tomatoes

Made from a variety of ingredients that vary with the manufacturer's recipe, ketchup can include tomatoes, ginger, other spices, vinegar, mustard, sugar and onions, and even at one time, mushrooms and anchovies. The visual primary ingredient in most ketchup today appears to be tomatoes, but this condiment was popular with Americans for quite some time before they readily accepted fresh tomatoes on their own. That was because botanists classified the tomato as a member of the nightshade family, related to the deadly poison, belladonna.

The Chinese originally created early ketchup in the 17th century, and it was pronounced much the same in their language as pronounced in the west today. The Chinese made their version from pickled fish and spices. Later recipes in Britain were made with mushrooms as the main ingredient, and that was the version taken to the America by British colonists. It took several days to manufacture home made ketchup by the colonists so when companies began to eventually sell it ready made - and bottled - you can imagine the delight of early housewives. Today, ketchup is sold in quite a range of flavours, including, believe it or not, banana.

Answer: Huge solidified masses of waste material in sewage pipes

That is so revolting! Fatbergs are masses of huge non-biodegradable solids which clump together in sewage pipes, and keep growing and growing until they block up the systems completely. Comprised of objects such as baby wipes, disposable nappies, cooking grease, cotton buds, condoms, food scraps and so on, over time these enormous blobs calcify and turn into huge rock like masses. This is particularly the case in the old outdated sewers of cities such as London, where sewage workers have a terrible time trying to remove fatbergs that have grown so large.

Examples of their size include a fatberg the size of a London bus in Kingston Upon Thames in 2013 - which weighed 17 tons; one the size of a Boeing 747 aircraft in Shepherd's Bush, London, in 2014; another under Chelsea in 2015 that was over 130 feet long; and one weighing 140 tons under Whitechapel in 2017. In a type of horror recycling with a vengeance, scientists are working to turn fatbergs into a fuel - but first the fatbergs have to be removed from the sewers - and that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars because of their solidification. They're as compacted and thick as the densest, heaviest rocks.

Answer: Pomegranate

Mentioned in the bible on various occasions, pomegranates were the fruit used by the spies to show Moses how fertile was the Promised Land. They are used in other forms of symbolism in the Old Testament as well. The pillars in front of Solomon's Temple, for example, were engraved with images of this fruit, and the beautiful Song of Solomon likens his love's temples to its colour. The pomegranate, with all its many seeds, is used by quite a few nations as well as a symbol of fertility. This is possibly an association with all the seeds contained within the fruit.

The symbolism of the pomegranate in other nations includes the following: Egyptians associated it with ambition and prosperity (and to treat tapeworm); Ancient Greeks believed the fruit sprang from the blood of Adonis, and it was the fruit, the seeds of which that Persephone ate, which kept her forever trapped with Hades for half of every year. Even today in modern Greece, it is associated with abundance and fertility, and it is conventional to give a pomegranate as a first gift to new home owners. In Armenia a tradition has a new bride throwing the fruit at a wall, and when it breaks open, this reveals children and fertility; and the number of the fruit's seeds ensure fecundity in China as well. The more practical Iranians and Ancient Persians, on the other hand, used, and still use, the skins of this fruit to stain the threads used in the manufacture of their beautiful carpets.

Answer: Stamping instead of clapping at the Proms

The annual eight week long Proms held at the Royal Albert Hall in London are a series of classical music concerts watched by millions around the world. The term "Proms" is a shortened version of "Promenade Concerts" and these were called such because it was once perfectly normal for people to stroll (promenade) around while the orchestra was playing. Held in the magnificent Royal Albert Hall in Kensington, another tradition associated with the Proms is the Prommers Stamp, where Prom goers express their extra loud appreciation of any rendition by enthusiastically stamping their feet - because this creates more noise than normal clapping.

The Royal Albert Hall has been host to an amazing range of events since it was first opened in 1871. A few of these include spectacular balls, water shows (there are two 4,000 gallon waters tanks stored below the stage for this purpose), boxing matches, suffragette rallies, rock concerts, operas, and even a round marathon on one occasion where the runners simply ran around and around the hall. The foundation stone for this magnificent structure was laid by Queen Victoria in 1867, six years after the death of her beloved husband, Albert. The Hall had been his vision, along with many other planned structures around London (nicknamed Albertopolis) but, alas, he never witnessed their fruition. The Queen attended the official opening of Royal Albert Hall four years later in 1871, but was too overcome with sorrow to deliver her speech. Her eldest son, the later King Edward VII, stepped in to deliver it on her behalf.

Answer: The Anti Flirt Club

When motor vehicles began to appear regularly on the streets of Washington D.C., in the United States in the 1920s, it was believed that this would lead to innocent young women falling victim to moustache twirling villains who sought to lure them into back seats. This resulted, in 1923, in Miss Helen Brown and Miss Alice Reighly forming the Anti Flirt Club to guide young women against the dangers of flirting, and accepting rides from strange men. Its hilarious rules follow:

1.Don't flirt. Those who flirt in haste often repent in leisure.
2.Don't accept rides from flirting motorists. They don't invite you in to save you a walk.
3.Don't use your eyes for ogling. They were made for worthier purposes.
4.Don't go out with men you don't know. They may be married, and you may be in for a hair-pulling match.
5.Don't wink. A flutter of one eye may cause a tear in the other.
6.Don't smile at flirtatious strangers. Save them for people you know.
7.Don't annex all the men you can get. By flirting with many, you may lose out on the one.
8.Don't fall for the slick, dandified cake eater. The unpolished gold of a real man is worth more than the gloss of a lounge lizard.
9.Don't let elderly men with an eye to a flirtation pat you on the shoulder and take a fatherly interest in you. Those are usually the kind who want to forget they are fathers.
10.Don't ignore the man you are sure of while you flirt with another. When you return to the first one you may find him gone.

The club had an Anti Flirt Week following their official opening, but one has never been held since. I sadly fear the back seats won.