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Quiz about Tidbits from In a Sunburned Country

Tidbits from "In a Sunburned Country" Quiz

It seems many Quizzylanders, like me, love Bill Bryson's books! This samples some anecdotes from his Australia travelogue (released as "Down Under" outside the US.)

A multiple-choice quiz by austinnene. Estimated time: 6 mins.

Author
austinnene

Time
6 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
280,808

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
460

Awards
Top 35% Quiz

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. What is Nothomyrmecia macrops, which was thought to be extinct, until it reappeared in Australia in 1977? Hint

A giant squidlike creature that turned up near the Great Barrier Reef.

A poisonous vine that can live for months with no water.

A prototypical ant, honey-gold in color.

A huge bird that may be a mutation of the condor.

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Question 2 of 10

2. For whom, according to Bill, was the Simpson Desert named? Hint

A Prime Minister who went walkabout and never returned.

The first convict who set foot on Australian soil when the Brits began exporting them.

Homer...

A guy who manufactured washing machines.

3. In Canberra, feeling somewhat lonely, Bill imbibed a few in a hotel bar. During this sojourn, he devised several Chamber of Commerce slogans for the Australian capital. Which was his favorite? Hint

Canberra: There's Nothing to It!

Canberra: Gateway to Everywhere Else!

Canberra: The Beer's the Key!

Canberra: Why Wait for Death?

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Question 4 of 10

4. Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt was swept away and never seen again after going for "the swim that needs no towel" in what small town across Port Phillip Bay from Melbourne? Hint

Warrnabool.

Portland.

Wonthaggi.

Portsea.

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Question 5 of 10

5. In 1838, 28 Aborigines were slaughtered by whites at Myall Creek in New South Wales. This was not a unique occurrence in Australia's history. What WAS unusual about Myall Creek? Hint

The whites were punished for their deeds.

The Aborigines were actually soldiers in the Australian military.

The Aborigines had murdered most of the woman and children in a nearby village the day before.

Three white men tried to prevent the killing, and were themselves murdered for their efforts.

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Question 6 of 10

6. What did Bill think of the Northern Territory's hospitality industry? Hint

That the Northern Territory should tear down all its hotels and replace them with military tents, which would be much more comfortable.

That it was sublime, unparalleled anywhere on the continent.

That someone should move the beaches back from the hotels a mile or so, so that people could get some sleep away from the noisy breakers.

That the Territory's inhabitants shouldn't be able to take full part in national affairs until they get friendlier hotel staff in Darwin.

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Question 7 of 10

7. What notable animal was featured at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, which Bill visited after his night in Darwin? Hint

A prehistoric elephant named C.D.

A crocodile named Sweetheart.

The smallest venomous insect in the world, unnamed.

A flightless hummingbird named Jake.

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Question 8 of 10

8. On the long desert trek from Darwin to Alice Springs, Bill stopped at a small settlement called Daily Waters. He and his companion found the bar there and proceeded to get excruciatingly snockered. The next morning, what did Bill learn he had done during the festivities? Hint

Gone outside for some air and passed out in the back of a stranger's pickup.

Removed his boxers and nailed them onto the pub's wall.

Agreed to swap homes with a man from Korea.

Ripped the felt on the pool table and paid the bar owner several hundred dollars for repairs.

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Question 9 of 10

9. What was the "School of the Air"? Hint

A training center for bush pilots.

A program on surveying and mapmaking conducted entirely on airplanes.

A training program for aboriginal acrobats.

A school for kids living far from towns who can't physically attend school.

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Question 10 of 10

10. Nearing the end of his stay in Australia, Bill drove another daunting, lonely distance to Shark Bay, on the west coast. There he was thrilled to see one of the oldest living organic forms known. What were these? Hint

The skeletons of billions of prehistoric froglike creatures.

A colony of prehistoric, prototypical jellyfish.

Red mosses that grow on only a single type of rock.

Some "living rocks".

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. What is Nothomyrmecia macrops, which was thought to be extinct, until it reappeared in Australia in 1977?

Answer: A prototypical ant, honey-gold in color.

Nothomyrmecia macrops is considered to be critically endangered, but it is still in existence in a couple spots in Australia. Although not the oldest lineage on earth, it is the last living species of a strain of ants of the Cretaceous Period. Its rediscovery in 1977 was a major entomological event!

2. For whom, according to Bill, was the Simpson Desert named?

Answer: A guy who manufactured washing machines.

Well, it's true, Simpson did manufacture washing machines, but he was also a philanthropist, Mayor of Adelaide from 1913 to 1915, and President of the Royal Geographical Society of South Australia. The Simpson Desert has no paved roads, and travel through the desert is strongly discouraged in the Australian summer months (November through February) due to the intense heat and lack of water.

3. In Canberra, feeling somewhat lonely, Bill imbibed a few in a hotel bar. During this sojourn, he devised several Chamber of Commerce slogans for the Australian capital. Which was his favorite?

Answer: Canberra: Gateway to Everywhere Else!

He was in his cups for sure...

4. Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt was swept away and never seen again after going for "the swim that needs no towel" in what small town across Port Phillip Bay from Melbourne?

Answer: Portsea.

On December 17, 1967, Holt went for a stroll with friends on Cheviot Beach, and decided to go for a swim. He disappeared into the sea very quickly; his body has never been found. A memorial to him was later built in Melbourne--a municipal swimming pool...

5. In 1838, 28 Aborigines were slaughtered by whites at Myall Creek in New South Wales. This was not a unique occurrence in Australia's history. What WAS unusual about Myall Creek?

Answer: The whites were punished for their deeds.

For many years, white people could kill Aborigines with impunity. Bill was struck by the fact that there is no memorial, no acknowledgment, of the killings at the site, but the locals to whom he spoke did not seem to think this was noteworthy.

6. What did Bill think of the Northern Territory's hospitality industry?

Answer: That the Territory's inhabitants shouldn't be able to take full part in national affairs until they get friendlier hotel staff in Darwin.

After a thoroughly unpleasant lodging experience in Darwin, Bill told the hotel clerk as they departed, that he would sooner have bowel surgery in the woods with a stick than return to the establishment. ("Excellent", the clerk responded, a trifle uncertainly.) Bryson's entire account of his disappointing stay in Darwin is a masterwork of hilarious, understated sarcasm.

7. What notable animal was featured at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, which Bill visited after his night in Darwin?

Answer: A crocodile named Sweetheart.

The croc, named Sweetheart (even though he was a male), was known for attacking boats and held the dubious distinction of having wrecked at least fifteen of them. Interestingly, Sweetheart did not attack the boats' occupants, only the vessels themselves. It is thought that the sound of the motors grated on Sweetheart's nerves. The beast was nearly 17 feet long.

Answer: Agreed to swap homes with a man from Korea.

Bill didn't at first believe his traveling companion when told of this transaction; but in his pocket was the Korean fellow's business card complete with the dates of the proposed house swap...

9. What was the "School of the Air"?

Answer: A school for kids living far from towns who can't physically attend school.

When Bill toured the school, he listened to a tape recording of a lesson consisting largely of the teacher, via CB radio, trying to establish contact with children, ("Kylie, are you there?--Over-" *static*)

Answer: Some "living rocks".

The "rocks", called stromatolites, are actually organic formations of something called cyanobacteria (blue-green algae), which use water, carbon dioxide and sunlight to create their food, which in turn yields by-products of oxygen and calcium carbonate.

They developed during a time, 3.5 to 2.7 billion years ago, when the atmosphere of the earth was rich in carbon dioxide but had very little oxygen. During the two billion years when stromatolites were the main form of life on earth, the oxygen they gave off raised the percentage of oxygen in the air until it reached about 20%, which sustains a multitude of other life forms--including, as Bill noted, himself!

Source: Author austinnene

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