The Rarest Letter Trivia Quiz

Answer: zabaglione

Zabaglione is a heavily whipped custard, in effect. The whipping incorporates air and lightens it. In Italy it is traditionally served with figs. In the US it is usually served with whatever fruit is in season or that the cook desires.

Answer: Old Rough and Ready

Zachary Taylor did not like the formal dress and pomp used in the military at that time, and wore plain dress. He was also in the middle of every fray his men were in. Thus, he received the title "Old Rough and Ready", which was very fitting. Taylor never lost a battle he enjoined, and eventually became a Brigadier General.

Although he was a Southerner and a slave owner, he wanted the Union to hold together. Some historians feel that because of him and his courage and honesty against the many who did not like him for his stance, the Civil War was postponed for 11 years. He was president for little more than one year, dying after what was said to be an acute attack of indigestion.

Answer: Republic of Croatia

The Republic of Croatia was founded in 1991 after four years of fighting for its independence from Yugoslavia. Zagreb is not only the capital, but also its largest city with a 2011 population of almost 793,000 people within its urban 247 square miles. In the US, its "sister city" is Pittsburgh, and in the UK it's London.

Answer: California Sea Lion

The Zalophus is the "trained circus seal" we see in entertainment venues, although it is not a true seal. (True seals have ear holes, but no ear flaps.) It IS very intelligent as well as adaptable to varied environments. The US Navy has even used sea lions for certain military operations.

The male can grow to 850 pounds, although the female is a great deal smaller, growing only to roughly 220 pounds. When dry, its skin is a purple color.

Answer: Zamboni

The machine was invented by Frank Zamboni who was born in Eureka, Utah. In later years, after he and his brother realized their ice block business would no doubt fail because of the new electrical refrigeration units, they opened an ice rink with their refrigeration equipment.

In 1949 he invented a machine that would resurface the ice with only one man and in ten-minutes. His patent was approved in 1953. The Zamboni company, which has remained in the hands of family members for decades, has sold over 10,000 Zamboni machines.

The 10,000th one was bought by the Montreal Canadiens in 2012.

Answer: Zane Grey

Zane Grey, born in 1872, practiced dentistry, and wrote in his spare time, until he and his new wife felt that her inheritance would be enough of a cushion for him to go to full-time writing. Although he was completely unfaithful, she stayed with him and managed the house as well as his writing business.

There seems to be no doubt that he loved her, but he was one of those men who wander. His first book was "Betty Zane", published in 1903. His last books to be published during his life time were "Western Union" and "Knights of the Range", both in 1939 the year he died in Altadena, CA, where his home is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Answer: Zanzibar

The archipelago's two largest islands are known as Unguju, normally referred to as Zanzibar, and Pemba. In 1890 Zanzibar became a British protectorate and in 1963 it became an independent sultanate. In 1964 it joined with Tanganyika to become Tanzania.

The historic center of Zanzibar's capital, Zanzibar City, is known as "Stone Town" and is a World Heritage Site. The main industries of Zanzibar are tourism, raffia and spices. It is the endemic home of the Zanzibar Red Colobus Monkey, the Zanzibar Servaline Genet (found first in 1998), and the Zanzibar Leopard.

The incorrect options are all towns in Southern Africa.

Answer: Zapateria

"Zapateria" translates to "shoe shop", or even to "shoe factory" in English. I found their selection in large sizes to be limited, but in San Miguel de Allende, at Maria's I found one of her wedged sandals that not only fit but handled the uneven street well.

Answer: Also sprach Zarathustra

"Also sprach Zarathustra" was written in 1896 and was first performed in Frankfort.

It is the initial fanfare, known as "Sunrise", that Stanley Kubrick used in the movie. That version was played by the Vienna Philharmonic, conducted by Herbert von Karajan and produced by Decca Records in 1959.

Answer: Judea

"Zealotry" has been described by one historian as the first examples of the use of terrorism. The Zealots attempted to incite the Jews to rebel against the Romans and run them out of Judea by force.

Spoken of as the "fourth sect" (the other three being the Essenes, the Pharisees, and the Sadducees) they came to being in the year 6, by Judas of Galilee and Zadok the Pharisee. They targeted Romans and Greeks, as well as Jews who they felt were collaborators.

They took Masada from the Romans in the year 70, killing all the Romans. Finally, in 73 the Romans were able to break through to the top of Masada, where they found all the Zealots and their families dead.

The term "zealot" in Hebrew means "zealous on behalf of God". This derives from the Greek "emulator, zealous admirer, or follower".