A Number Eight Wire Trivia Quiz

Answer: A family farm in Waikato

With the hobbits building their homes in holes in the side of hills, Jackson needed a special place for the set of Hobbiton. He found it on the Alexander family sheep and cattle farm on rolling grassland near Hinuera. The hobbit house facades were created in several sizes and constructed of plywood, so they could be dismantled after filming. Also built were the mill and the double arch bridge. in 2010, the facades were rebuilt permanently and the area is now a tourist attraction with guided tours. There is also a Shire's Rest Cafe and a replica of the Green Dragon inn.

Phoenix Rising's Red Crew members jaknginger and leith90 explored Hobbiton for this question, and while jaknginger found the little shire fascinating, leith90 preferred the Green Dragon inn.

Answer: Spiral Hairpin

Godward led an interesting life, running away to sea at a young age. He eventually settled down in New Zealand and started several firms. His inventions included a new type of eggbeater and a hedge trimmer. In 1902 he invented a spiral hair pin which became very popular and he then sold the rights to an American company. Godward was best known for improving carburettors for combustion engines, a device he called the Eclipse Petrol Economiser.

This question was invented by player pusdoc for Red Crew's participation in the Phoenix Rising Global Tour 2022.

Answer: Kawarau Gorge Suspension Bridge, Queenstown, NZ

The origins of the modern bungee jumping arise from the cultural rite of passage of land diving on Pentecost Island, Vanuatu. From there is spread to England and America and across the globe. Mr Hackett took his first plunge in Auckland, NZ at the Upper Harbour Bridge and this gave him the idea and motivation to create the A J Hackett Bungy company in Queenstown, NZ. His first commercial platform site was in Queenstown, NZ at the Kawarau Gorge Suspension Bridge. He has commercial bungy jump sites worldwide and has been recognized for bring adventure tourism to New Zealand. Bungy is also spelled and recognized as bungee.

Jaknginger remembers when Mr Hackett was arrested for illegally jumping from the Eiffel Tower in 1987.

Answer: Plastic surgery

Gillies was born and raised in Dunedin, New Zealand. While serving in World War I in the Army Medical Corps, he noted the need for extensive repair of facial wounds. After the war he travelled to England where he was one of the first to use transferred flaps of tissue to repair injuries; this is a mainstay of reconstructive surgery in the modern era. In his later years he pioneered work on sex reassignment surgeries. In 1960 at the age of 78, Gilles died after suffering a stroke while operating.

This question was transferred into the quiz by player pusdoc of the Phoenix Rising Red Crew.

Answer: Colin Murdoch

The tranquilliser gun is an air rifle designed to deliver a sedative-filled dart so wild animals may be examined and treated safely. Colin Murdoch, a veterinarian from Christchurch first came up with the idea in the 1950s while studying deer and wild goats. His idea was taken further and the modern version today has a ballistic syringe which uses compressed gas to ensure delivery of the medication.
Ted Turner was the founder of CNN, and Russell Crowe is an actor. James White is better known under his pen name of James Herriot.

Phoenix Rising's red crew member leith90 took a pot shot at this question. From a safe distance, of course.

Answer: Zorbing

Akers and van der Sluis are credited with creating the modern Zorb ball and coining the name in 1994. The Zorb is a large inflatable double ball and is jokingly referred to as a human hamster ball. People inside may 'walk' the ball around, much like a hamster, or are thrown around inside while the ball rolls along a slope.

Zorbing is thought of as a kiwi invention, whereas it's more the world's first dedicated Zorbing park, franchise and the name, that belongs to New Zealand. In 1979, Frenchman Gilles Ebersolt registered his 'Bubble', which looks remarkably similar to the Zorb, and which appeared on TV in the 1980's.

This question was rolled into the quiz by Phoenix Rising's Red Crew member leith90, who hasn't got the ba...er... courage to try zorbing.

Answer: Coffee

In 1890, David Strang from Invercargill In New Zealand, patented instant coffee. It was produced by a dry hot air method, that involved blowing hot dry air over liquid coffee reducing it into an instant coffee solid. It is felt that this method would have produced a product that probably wasn't the best tasting brew, but may well have been easier and lighter to ship. A Tokyo scientist called Satori Kato was considered to be first in this field but his product wasn't heralded till 1901. Other methods are now used to create the instant coffees we know today.

Red Team's smpdit is a bit of a coffee lover, and rarely resorts to instant.

Answer: Propellors

Sir William Hamilton lived from 1899 to 1978 and he famously said that he didn't invent marine jet propulsion but rather a gentleman named Archimedes who lived some years ago did. Even so, Hamilton is credited with developing the modern jet boat. Prior to Hamilton, motorized boats could not traverse the shallow rivers of New Zealand because their propellers would hit the river floor. Hamilton's jet boat was a huge success as they were found to be more manoeuvrable and able to change speeds more easily than motorboats with propellers. Shortly after utilizing his jet boats in New Zealand, Hamilton took three of his jet boats to the United States and demonstrated them through the Grand Canyon.

This question was propelled into the quiz by Phoenix Rising teammate and Red Crew member Triviaballer as part of the team's 2022 World Tour.

Answer: To stop his horse scratching itself on his car

The idea of a fence reinforced with electricity had been mooted as far back as 1832, when Fanny Trollope describes an electrified barrier to protect a museum display, it was also discussed by Jules Verne in "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea", and by Mark Twain in "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court", an electric fence was also constructed by David H Wilson in the US in 1886, it proved to be successful at its job but was not seen as a valid business opportunity. In 1936 Bill Gallagher managed to create an electric fence, built from a car ignition trembler coil, that wasn't hazardous to livestock. He created the Gallagher Group to market and improve on his invention.

Red team's smpdit remembers having to hurdle an electric fence whilst on holiday many years ago whilst being chased by hungry cows who mistook her for someone else.

Answer: Jewellery

Sally began making bangles from the wire back in 2011, and features a double loop in the figure of a number eight. Originally she started with bracelets for women, but branched out and made them for children through to men although men prefer a single loop rather than the dangle bangles.
The wire started as fences for sheep farms and because the farmers had rolls of it on the farm, they started using it to fix anything that was broken, including car radio aerials, holding exhaust systems on cars, cleaning out plumbing pipes, holding garden sheds together. It can even be fashioned into a small screwdriver to fix spectacles.

The expression 'Number 8 Wire' has entered the New Zealand vernacular to represent the ingenuity of New Zealander s. You can dine at a restaurant named Number 8 wire, in Rotarua, where they specialise in local produce. There is also an annual award called 'Fieldays No.8 Wire National Art Award' where entrants use wire in artistic ways. I doubt that anyone would actually eat wire, and it is certainly not stretchy enough for a bungee jump.

This question was hotwired into the quiz by ozzz2002, who has built and mended many wire fences.