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The World's Easiest Quiz
April 28, 2003, 14:54
BobHaleThe World's Easiest Quiz
CJ's post elsewhere about "How many people were in The Three Stooges ?" reminded me of this.
The World's easiest quiz - a score of four is a pass.
1) How long did the Hundred Years War last?
2) Which country makes Panama hats?
3) From which animals do we get catgut?
4) In which month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution?
5) What is a camel's hair brush made of?
6) The Canary Islands in the Pacific are named after what animal? (The answer to this was quetioned by a few people at snopes where I originally saw the quiz.)
7) What was King George VI's first name?
8) What color is a purple finch?
9) Where are Chinese gooseberries usually from?
(I can't vouch for the accuracy of all the answers but I'll post them later in the week.)
I'll add a question ten.
10. Paul McGann played the eighth incarnation of Doctor Who on television. How many actors preceded him in the role ?
Non curo ! Si metrum no habet, non est poema.
Read all about my travels around the world here.Read even more of my travel writing and poems on my weblog.April 28, 2003, 15:17
haberdasherI've seen this quiz before, so I'll abstain.
Besides, I only know the answer to one of them:
"7) What was King George VI's first name?"
The answer is
KING(as in "What was Richard III's middle name?" "the" )
April 28, 2003, 15:21
C J StrolinI'll also abstain, having seen most of these before, but I'll also add one:
11.) Who's buried in Grant's Tomb?
I would debate the title "World's Easiest Quiz," though.
April 29, 2003, 01:41
arnieI've seen these (at snopes) as well, so I'll have to abstain also.
May 02, 2003, 21:12
KallehI passed!
May 03, 2003, 03:18
BobHalequote:
Originally posted by Kalleh:
I passed!
Well just to check your answers.
ANSWERS TO THE QUIZ
1) How long did the Hundred Years War last? 116 years
2) Which country makes Panama hats? Ecuador
3) From which animal do we get cat gut? Sheep and Horses
4) In which month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution? November
5) What is a camel's hair brush made of? Squirrel fur
6) The Canary Islands in the Pacific are named after what animal? Dogs
7) What was King George VI's first name? Albert
8) What color is a purple finch? Crimson
9) Where are Chinese gooseberries from? New Zealand
10) Eight (One Doctor was played by two different actors)
------------------------------------------------
Regardless of your final score as the only entrant I declare you to be the winner.
Collect your gold,silver and bronze medals at the podium.
Non curo ! Si metrum no habet, non est poema.
Read all about my travels around the world here.Read even more of my travel writing and poems on my weblog.May 05, 2003, 10:21
C J Strolinquote:
Originally posted by BobHale:
10) Eight (One Doctor was played by two different actors)
Not sure I get this one. One doctor (Doctor Who) was played by nine different actors. Can I assume that in one year's offerings the good Doctor had a twin or some such? (And, as a sidenote, our stateside PBS stations no longer carry "Doctor Who" despite a large and loyal fan base. The show's producers raised the rental price [or whatever they call it] so high that the PBS budget could no longer hack it.
In answer to my offering, Mr AND Mrs Ulysses S. Grant are buried at Grant's Tomb.
Collect your gold,silver and bronze medals at the podium.
Brings up another pet peeve. "Podium" used to mean the flat surface upon which a lecturn stood or from which a lecturn-less speaker spoke. "Pod" = "foot" etc. I was taught that if a speaker was "clutching the podium," as is still comonly written, it meant that he must have very strong toes. Through misuse, however, "podium" and "lecturn" are now pretty much synonymous.
May 05, 2003, 11:39
KallehI flunked!
[I thought I at least got the Grant's Tomb question right. Sheeesh!]
May 05, 2003, 12:33
BobHalequote:
Originally posted by C J Strolin:
quote:
Originally posted by BobHale:
10) Eight (One Doctor was played by two different actors)
_
_In answer to my offering, Mr AND Mrs Ulysses S. Grant are buried at Grant's Tomb._
The Doctor - a timelord who got a new body every time he "died" was played in his eight incarnations by William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy and Paul McGann.
However the BBC decided to have one story (Peter Davison was the (fifth) Doctor) featuring our time travelling hero meeting all four of his previous selfs (selves ?). Unfortunately by then William Hartnell had passed away and for that one story only Richard Hurndall took the role of the first Doctor.
As for Grant's Tomb - then surely the correct usage would be the Grants' tomb.
Non curo ! Si metrum no habet, non est poema.
Read all about my travels around the world here.Read even more of my travel writing and poems on my weblog.May 06, 2003, 09:41
KallehBob, you are completely right about "Grants'" Tomb. Had the apostrophe been used correctly, maybe, just maybe (had I been vigilant!), I would have gotten 1 right.
That actually is the story of my life. When I was in high school, my chemistry teacher was our football coach. While I was an excellent chemistry student, I knew nothing about football. He gave us what he termed a "gimme" extra credit question on an exam. He asked, "What do you think the football score will be this weekend?" Now, he would have accepted any guess; you didn't have to guess the real score. However, yours truly guessed "1-0", which according to him is absolutely impossible. Therefore, he refused to give me the points!
Now, Shufitz tells me there is a way to get a 1-0 score (I can't recall how) so I should have argued that one! Years later he was one of my student's patients in the hospital. We laughed over that scenario as I had been quite miffed not to have gotten the points!
May 06, 2003, 09:55
haberdasherIsn't 1-0 the score of a forfeit?
May 06, 2003, 09:57
jerry thomasquote:
Years later he was one of my student's patients in the hospital.
You might want to edit that line before C.J. sees it and withholds points. Unless the coach was the patient of your single solitary student, proper apostrophe placement calls for a rewrite, such as "
He was a patient of one of my students ...Just trying to be helpful!!!
~~~~ jerry
Of course, if you played the game known throughout the rest of the world as "football", a 1-0 score would be one of the most common results.
May 06, 2003, 11:45
KallehYes, haberdasher, it was a forfeit. See, I deserved the points!
Jerry, you are completely right about the apostrophe. But, I have come a long way, Baby, with the help of the "apostrophe militants" on this board!
May 06, 2003, 15:30
C J StrolinMy two cents:
"Years later he was one of my student's patients in the hospital." = linguistically correct but slightly awkward
"He was a patient of one of my students." = better, clearer. The paraphrase is so often an improvement.
"He was
the patient of one of my students." = better yet, a bit, though I couldn't explain why quoting line and verse from any established reference.
Also, you could have "former" preceed "students" since, I assume, he or she has gone on to bigger and better things, though this is the tiniest nits to pick.
Lastly, "Grant's Tomb" is how they write it, referring just to Ulysses S. Grant. His wife is only along for the ride, as it were, so "Grants' Tomb," while correct apostrophizationingly (note the influence of the "long German words" thread) is not what is seen as correct. Just another example of a woman taking a back seat to her man.
September 02, 2003, 19:16
maxqnzquote:
Originally posted by BobHale:
CJ's post elsewhere about "How many people were in The Three Stooges ?" reminded me of this.
The World's easiest quiz - a score of four is a pass.
9) Where are Chinese gooseberries usually from?
The correct answer
IS China - it's even in the botanical name - sinensis. The Chinese gooseberry grew wild in parts of China and was brought here some time ago. It bears little resemblance to the kiwifruit (and please note, that is its name - a "kiwi" is a bird, not a fruit). The kiwifruit is the result of extensive horticultural work on improving size, texture and taste. The kiwifruit comes from here, but the Chinese gooseberry (a fruit I have had only once) does not. It comes, as its name suggests, from China.
September 03, 2003, 01:55
BobHaleWelcome aboard max.
One of the best things about new blood on the board is the resurrection of old threads.
I knew that several of the answers to that joke quiz were debatable at best but it's still a funny quiz. Actually, although it's technically wrong, kiwi fruit are quite often called chinese gooseberries in this part of the world. You're right of course - they shouldn't be. They are different things.
Glaubt es mir - das Geheimnis, um die größte Fruchtbarkeit und den größten Genuß vom Dasein einzuernten, heisst: gefährlich leben.
- Friedrich Nietzsche
Read all about my travels around the world here.Read even more of my travel writing and poems on my weblog.September 03, 2003, 21:16
tinmanWellcome aboard, maxqnz. When I first saw your post I thought, “Great, another phytophile!” Was I right in that assumption?
“Chinese gooseberry” is a misnomer. True gooseberries are in the genus
Ribes, while “Chinese gooseberry” is in the genus
Actinidia. The OED says that “Chinese gooseberry [is] the N.Z. name for the plant and fruit of
Actinidia chinensis, a deciduous fruiting vine”, but the Center for New Crops & Plant Products (Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA) says the Europeans began calling it “Chinese gooseberry” because of the flavor and color of the flesh. This replaced the Chinese name,
yang tao,, which means "strawberry peach".
A. chinensis seeds were introduced to England from China in 1900 and to New Zealand in 1906.
New Zealand growers began calling it “kiwifruit” in 1962 to give it market appeal. In 1974 “kiwifruit” became a trade name.
The name has been shortened to “kiwi” by many people, though apparently not by maxqnz. This is understandable, since “kiwi” is a small, flightless bird (
Apteryx spp.) and “Kiwi” refers to a New Zealander. (The OED reports that “kiwi” is slang for a non-flying member of the Air Force.)
“Kiwifruit” does not appear in the OED (online version) as a main entry, but does appear under the entry “kiwi”: “kiwi berry, fruit =
Chinese gooseberry".
Further reading:
Wikipedia:
Kiwi and
kiwifruit.
New Crops & Plant Products:
kiwifruit.
Kiwi Recovery:
Home,
Kiwis saving kiwi,
About the bird (great sign!),
The kiwi familyTinman
[This message was edited by tinman on Wed Sep 3rd, 2003 at 21:45.]
September 03, 2003, 23:32
maxqnzquote:
Originally posted by tinman:
Wellcome aboard, maxqnz. When I first saw your post I thought, “Great, another phytophile!” Was I right in that assumption?
The name has been shortened to “kiwi” by many people, though apparently not by maxqnz. This is understandable, since “kiwi” is a small, flightless bird (_Apteryx_ spp.) and “Kiwi” refers to a New Zealander. (The OED reports that “kiwi” is slang for a non-flying member of the Air Force.)
All true, except that I am in the company of 4 million others who don't shorten the word kiwifruit eithe, for the reasons you explain above. Calling the fruit simply "a kiwi" is guaranteed to push the buttons of just about any Kiwi, I can promise you that. It is at the least, annoying, at the most, offensive. Oh, and I'm not much of a phytophile, botany is a vast uncharted space for me.
September 04, 2003, 00:35
maxqnzHere's a link about what a kiwi is, and what it isn't.
KiwiSeptember 04, 2003, 07:39
haberdasherWas there not also a Kiwi Shoe Polish fifty years or so ago? Came in a little can (about the size of a can of shoe polish) and had a picture of the bird on the lid...
September 04, 2003, 20:44
KallehMy, my, you are alert, Hab. I have bought Kiwi shoe polish before, but I hadn't remembered the
bird. I have to confess, until this discussion I had always considered "kiwi" to be a fruit...and a good one, at that!
September 05, 2003, 09:00
Richard EnglishIndeed there was; and it was around 25 years ago too; and a year ago; and 25 minutes ago.
The brand is alive and well and I have tins of it in my shoe-cleaning drawer.
Richard English
September 05, 2003, 12:47
shufitzMax's link (here is a
longer version) above teaches that of all birds (with the possible exception of the hummingbird), the kiwi has the largest egg in proportion to its body size. Kiwi are about the same size as chickens, but their eggs are almost as big as those of ostriches!
The poor dears!
September 15, 2003, 05:31
Morganquote:
Originally posted by haberdasher:
Was there not also a Kiwi Shoe Polish fifty years or so ago? Came in a little can (about the size of a can of shoe polish) and had a picture of the bird on the lid...
Yeah, Hab! Imagine that! A can of "Kiwi
shoe polish" that comes in a can "(about the size of a can of
shoe polish)"! Will wonders NEVER cease!
September 15, 2003, 11:17
haberdasherSorry - I looked, but couldn't find the "with a straight face!" emoticon. (There it is again! :-| )
November 26, 2008, 19:44
jerry thomasquote:
(about the size of a can of shoe polish)
... smells a lot like shoe polish, too. I remember the aroma although I have used no Kiwi or any other shoe polish in these past 23 years -- the Sandal Era of my life, where my only footgear is sandals.
November 26, 2008, 21:58
jerry thomasReading back in the posts of last April and May and reading the quiz, I notice "The Canary Islands in the Pacific ..."
As nearly as we can determine, there are no Canary Islands in the Pacific.
Did the composer of the quiz mean
Atlantic ?BLTN = Better Late Than Never.
November 27, 2008, 06:20
arniequote:
Reading back in the posts of last April and May
Um ... They were made in April and May of
2003, jerry - over five years ago.
Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
November 27, 2008, 09:15
jerry thomasSeems like only yesterday.
How Time does Fly !!
November 27, 2008, 14:31
<Asa Lovejoy>quote:
Originally posted by BobHale:
1) How long did the Hundred Years War last?
Until it was over.
2) Which country makes Panama hats?
No country does. Individual people and factories do.
3) From which animals do we get catgut?
From any animal that we slit open after it eats a cat.
4) In which month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution?
October, but it took a month to get the word out.
5) What is a camel's hair brush made of?
Don't be silly - camels don't brush their hair.
6) The Canary Islands in the Pacific are named after what animal? (The answer to this was quetioned by a few people at snopes where I originally saw the quiz.)
I actually knew this one. Posted about it here somewhere. This is where one can find a dog bird instead of a bird dog.
7) What was King George VI's first name?
Before he was George VI he was Albert Frederick Arthur George Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Whew! No wonder he shortened it!
8) What color is a purple finch?
While he's holding his breath or afterwards?
9) Where are Chinese gooseberries usually from?
Geese don't have berries, even in China.
I'll add a question ten.
What is the meaning of life, the universe, and everything?
Read all about my travels around the world here.Read even more of my travel writing and poems on my weblog.
November 27, 2008, 15:59
jerry thomasCanary Islands ... in the
Atlantic?,
Pacific? Black Sea? Mediterranean?