Oh I Do Like To Be Beside the C Side Quiz

Answer: Census taking

Way back then, the Egyptians did indeed start this process of collecting information on individuals. Unfortunately their census taking wasn't to plot out changing demographics so that facilities could be built to improve society. Instead it was used to find out who should be paying taxes - and who was fit for military service.

A double whammy in fact. Evidence of this early form of census is seen today in papyrus manuscripts held in various museums, and inscriptions on ancient monuments in various Egyptian temples.

Answer: Cactus

Who'd know that? If you did, my heartiest congratulations! Cacti have adapted over time to hold fluid within their stems in hot climates. The leaves develop into sharps spikes. Apart from being a dry weather plant, cacti are also used today for ornamental purposes in homes and gardens, some are grown for food and fruit (if you're desperate I imagine), and some are also grown to produce cochineal.

The tallest cactus on record is the hideous looking Pachycereus pringlei which can be seen in the north of Mexico.

Some of these ogres have reached heights of almost 63 feet.

Answer: Cities

At approximately 8,000 years BC, this area of the world, located between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates in today's Iraq and parts of Syria, Turkey and Iran, featured several cities. These included Eridu, Uruk and Ur. Ur in particular is mentioned several times in the ancient records of the Bible. Theorists still argue today how and why early cities developed. Some say as focal points for agricultural trade, and this in turn brought hunter-gatherers into a localised point to enable breeding of farm animals. This seems to be the most popular theory. Other theorists argue that it was raw materials that brought about trade between various peoples, and that this gave rise to cities as trading centres.

Several factors have been put forward by these theorists that define early cities. These are "size and density of a population...differentiation (of trades) in a population...payment of taxes to a deity or king (sigh)...monumental public buildings...systems of recording...practical science...a system of writing...development of symbolic art...trade...import of raw materials...(and) specialist craftsmen".

Answer: Cemeteries

Cemeteries include graves, tombs, mausoleums, columbariums (that sounds like a medical procedure), or other like names. Archaeologists delight in finding prehistoric cemeteries (known as grave fields during that time) because of the wealth of historic information that can be garnered from same. From the 7th century onwards, churches controlled burial sites, and the ground set aside for same was considered consecrated land. Oh, this is creepy: In continental Europe for many centuries, the dead were all thrown into the one area until they had decomposed. Perhaps that even includes Mozart. After that delightful process had taken place, the remaining bones were then stored in an Ossuary.

Many people interred in "normal" cemeteries however were "defined by social status" regarding their final resting place. The nobility were usually buried in fancy crypts, but your everyday person in the street, if his or her family could afford it, had to be content with a simple headstone. The information inscribed on same was usually very brief because of the cost per letter of engraving. So much wonderful history lost to the almighty dollar even then. If one was super poor, a humble wooden cross may or may not have marked his or her grave site. The sad thing about it all is that many ancient cemeteries, over time, were eventually bulldozed down, and the site used as some sort of public facility. One such one from my area of the world can be found in Brisbane, Queensland. The top football stadium in the state, Lang Park, was once a beautiful old history filled cemetery. Because it proved so difficult to locate any remaining descendants of the deceased when it was decided to use it for another purpose, many of the graves still exist right under the area where those beefy lumps play. They wouldn't want to tackle anyone too hard I imagine - and I can't even begin to tell you how much I'd resent that brutal game being played over my bones.

Answer: Cadaver

Autolysis is the first stage. That is when the body's cells are consumed by their own digestive enzymes. This could even be referred to as biting the hand that feeds you. During this jolly stage, liquid is manufactured and sinks into the skin. This causes the skin to peel off. Then flies come and lay eggs in any orifice in the body they can find. The maggots when they hatch, begin to eat the body. This is the stage that many coroners use to detect how long ago a person died, or was murdered.

The second stage is bloating. This is caused when gases inside the body are trapped because the organs which normally eliminate them have collapsed. Bloating usually occurs in the stomach, mouth and genitals and the tongue swells up. Once the body has decomposed enough, these gases finally escape.

The last stage is the longest stage and continues for quite a lengthy period. It's referred to as putrefaction. This is where all the parts of the body break down and turn into a form of liquid. This can take up to several years to occur in some cases. Perhaps if you know what happens, the whole frightening process may become that much less terrifying for you. It's just a part of our natural life time cycle. However, let me assure you that I believe I'll pass on dinner tonight.

Answer: Chapel

Martin of Tours (316-397) began life as an ordinary sort of person, but with a religious and kindly side to his personality. He became a soldier as a young man, and, one night whilst out in his uniform, he saw a beggar shivering with the cold. Martin removed his cloak, cut it in half, and gave it to this needy soul. Miraculously, according to the religious belief, the beggar turned out to be Christ. So moved was Martin by this experience, that he abandoned his life as a soldier and became, firstly, a monk, and then a bishop in the city of Tours.

The remaining half of his cape, now considerably smaller, was called a capella in the Latin language. After a lifetime of good works, and with many miraculous events associated with his name, Martin died. His burial site became known as a shrine and a stopping place for many weary pilgrims on their long journeys towards salvation. His capella eventually ended up in the castle of the Frankish kings. They took it with them to battle and kept it under cover on the battlefields in a small tent, known also as a capella. The priests who performed daily mass in this tent were referred to as Capellani and from this we get the words we know now as chapel and chaplain. Today Martin of Tours is the patron saint of soldiers.

Answer: Croix de guerre

This military honour was created in 1915 during World War One, and has been awarded as a medal distinguishing bravery ever since. It can be issued in several different forms and by several different countries, and to units of defence as well as to individuals. Therefore, a person can actually receive this honour on more than one occasion.

A few individuals who received this honour during World War Two, for example, include Josephine Baker, "for her work in the French Resistance"; General George C Patton for "leading the U.S. Third Army during the Liberation of France"; American soldier and later actor, Audie Murphy, who received four versions of this medal plus the Medal of Honour for his outstanding valour; American actor James Stewart for his work in helping liberate France, and who finally left the army with the rank of Brigadier General; and the New Zealander Nancy Wake, one of the most decorated servicewomen of the war. She was awarded the medal three times for her work with the French resistance movement, the Maquis.

A little carrier pigeon, Cher Ami, was even once awarded this honour during World War One for its work in saving the lives of 194 American soldiers trapped in battle. The poor little thing was "shot in the chest and leg, blinded in one eye, losing most of the leg to which the message was attached, but continued the 25-mile flight...to get the message home." It was awarded this distinction, but died shortly after from the wounds it had received - and that's enough to make anyone's heart swell with emotion.

Answer: Canberrans

Canberra is located in the middle of nowhere really, between the state capital city of Melbourne in Victoria and Sydney in New South Wales. Because the site was chosen on which to build the governmental capital city of this nation from scratch, it is one of Australia's very few planned cities. The others just grew up over time from small settlements and villages. Construction began in 1913 and it was officially named as a city in that year. One of its features includes a very large and beautiful man-made lake in the centre of the region. The provisional parliament was constructed by 1927 and the federal legislature took place there on 9th of May that year. Prior to Canberra being constructed, the nation's stand by capital was initially Sydney and then Melbourne.

The name Canberra is meant to be an aboriginal word for "Meeting Place", but oh dear, oh dear, it's recently come to light that it's another aboriginal word for "Hollow between a woman's breasts". How typically Australian is that - and how on earth are we supposed to take any of our politicians seriously after that?

Answer: Cockatoo dwarf cichlid

With the scientific name of Apistogramma cacatuoides, the Cockatoo dwarf cichlid is a small South American fish. Only reaching a couple of inches (8 centimetres) in length, the male is almost a third bigger than the female, covered with red and orange splotches, and has a big mouth with thick lips. How irresistible, ladies. The female is much paler and plainer than the male, but when she's in the mating mood, her colours become more vivid. The little floosie! Her colours also become more vivid when she's protecting her babies. Never get between a female five centimetre fish and her brood - she'll rip you from limb to limb.

These little fish are found in the Amazon River basin or in small streams and lagoons in the Amazon jungle. They are usually bred in "captivity" by man for use in aquariums. Wow, this is interesting: Some of the male fish are much more timid than the usual males, who, the more aggressive they are, the bigger their fins grow. The timid males don't develop full fins as a consequence and will often pretend to be female. That's amazing - transvestite fish!

Answer: Coolie

Most of these mistreated people came from China, India or the Philippines during the time period of the 19th to early 20th centuries. Known as hard workers, some were tricked into their subsequent lives by misleading contracts, some were sold into slavery by their enemies, some were kidnapped, and some even sold themselves into slavery to pay off debts. Most were shipped to Cuba and numbered as many as 600,000 a year. That's rather horrifying. Many ended up being treated brutally, or sold at public auctions, or working in groups under the control of cruel overseers.

The death rate on the ships that took them to their destinations was dreadful, reaching as high as forty percent at times. Of the ones who ended up in Peru, most died within a couple of years. Of four thousand sent to an area known as the Chincas, not a single one survived. The vast majority of the ones who did manage to survive and endure, married African American slaves and became the ancestors of "the modern world's Afro-Asian and Asian Latin American population".